B&H90
.US' 2.
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I
AN
EXPOSITION
OP TUB
Old and New Testament:
WHEREIN
EACH CHAPTER IS SUMMED UP IN ITS CONTENTS ; THE SACRED TEXT INSERTED
AT LARGE, IN DISTINCT PARAGRAPHS ; EACH PARAGRAPH REDUCED
TO ITS PROPER HEADS ; THE SENSE GIVEN,
AND LARGELY ILLUSTRATED ;
WITH
PRACTICAL REMARKS AND OBSERVATIONS:
/
BY MATTHEW HENRY.
EDITED BY
THE REV. GEORGE BURDER, AND THE REV. JOSEPH HUGHES, A. M.
WITH THE
LIFE OF THE AUTHOR,
BY THE
REV. SAMUEL PALMER.
Jfiv at American IS&ition:
TO WHICH IS PREFIXED,
A PREFACE,
BY ARCHIBALD ALEXANDER, D. D.
PROFESSOR OF THEOLOGY IN THE SEMINARY AT PRINCETON, M. i.
VOL. IV.
PHILADELPHIA .
ED. BARRINGTON & GEO. D. HASWE'LL,
MARKET STREET.
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AN
EXPOSITION,
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WITH
PRACTICAL, OBSERVATIONS,
UPON THE
PROPHETICAL BOOKS
OF THE
OLD TESTAMENT,
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KAMEL Y,
ISAIAH,
JEREMIAH,
LAMENTATIONS,
EZEKIEL,
DANIEL,
HOSEA,
JOEL,
AMOS.
OBADIAH,
JONAH,
MICAH,
NAHUM,
HABAKKUK,
ZEPHANIAH,
HAGGAI,
ZECHARIAH,
AND
MALACHI.
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THE
PREFACE
TO THE
PROPHETICAL BOOKS.
T^HOSE books of scripture are all prophetical, of which here, in weakness , and in fear, and in much
trembling, we have endeavoured a methodical explication and a practical improvement. I call them
firofihetical, because so they are for the main, though we have some histories, £here and there brought
in for the illustration of the prophecies,) and a book of Lamentations. Our Saviour often puts the Law
and the Profihets for the Ola Testament. The prophets, by waving the ceremonial precepts, and not
insisting on them, but only on the weightier matters of the law, plainly intimated the abolishing of that
part of the law of Moses by the gospel; and by their many predictions of Christ, and the kingdom of his
grace, they intimated the accomplishing and perfecting of that part of the law of Moses in the gospel.
Thus the prophets were the nexus — the connecting bond between the law and the gospel, and are
therefore fitly placed between them.
These books, being prophetical, are, as such, divine, and of heavenly original and extraction. We
have human laws, human histories, and human poems, as well as divine ones, but we can have no human
prophecies. Wise and good men may make prudent conjectures concerning future events; ( moral firog-
nostications we call them;) but it is essential to true prophecy that it be of God. The learned Huetius*
lays this down for one of his axioms, Omnis firofihetica facultas a Deo est — The frofihetic talent is en¬
tirely from God; and he proves it to be the sense both of Jews and heathen, that it is God’s prerogative
to foresee things to come, and that whoever had such a power, had it from God. And therefore the Jews
reckon all prophecy to be given by the highest degree of inspiration, except that which was peculiat
to Moses. When our Saviour asked the chief priests whether John’s baptism were from heaven, or of
men, they durst not say, Of men, because the people counted him a prophet, and, if so, then not of men.
The Hebrew name for a prophet is tea) — a sfieaker, preacher, or orator, a messenger, or interpreter,
that delivers God’s messages to the children of men; as a herald to proclaim war, or an ambassador to
treat of peace. But then it must be remembered, that he was formerly called run or npn, that is, c
seer; (1 Sam. ix. 9.) for prophets, with the eyes of their minds, first saw what they were to speak, and
then spake what they haa seen.
Prophecy, taken strictly, is the foretelling of things to come; and there were those to whom God gave
this power, not only that it might be a sign for the confirming of the faith of the church concerning the
doctrine preached, when the things foretold should be fulfilled, but for warning, instruction, and comfort,
in prospect of what they themselves might not live to see accomplished, but which should be fulfilled in
its season; so, predictions of things to come long after, might be of present use.
The learned Dr. Grewf describes prophecy in this sense to be, “ A declaration of the divine pre¬
science, looking at any distance through a train of infinite causes, known and unknown to us, upon a sure
and certain effect ” Whence he infers, “ That the being of prophecies supposes the non-being of con¬
tingents, for though there are many things which seem to us to be contingents, yet, were they so indeed,
there could have been no prophecy; and there can be no contingent seemingly so loose and independent,
but it is a link of some chain.” And Huetius gives this reason, why none but God can foretell things to
come, Because every effect depends upon an infinite number of preceding causes, all which, in their or¬
der, must be known to him that foretells the effect, and therefore to God only, for he alone is omniscient.
So Tully argues; Qui teneat causas rerum futurarum, idem necesse est omnia teneat gute futurasint;
quod facere nemo nisi Deus potest — He who knows the causes of future events, must necessarily know
the events themselves; this is the prerogative of God alone. X And therefore we find that by this the God
of Israel proves himself to be God, that by his prophets he foretold things to come, which came to pass
according to the prediction, Isa. xlvi. 9, 10. And by this he disproves the pretensions of the Pagan deities,
that they could not show the things that were to come to pass hereafter, Isa. xli. 23. Tertullian proves
the divine authority of the scripture from the fulfilling of scripture-prophecies, Idoneum, oflinor, testi¬
monium Divinitatis, veritas Divinationis — I conceive the accomplishment of prophecy to be a satisfactory
attestation from God. || And beside the foretelling of things to come, the discovering of things secret by
revelation from God is a branch of prophecy, as Ahiiah’s discovering Jeroboam’s wife in disguise, an(
Elisha’s telling Gehazi what passed between him and Naaman.
But § prophecy, in scripture-language, is taken more largely for a declaration of such things to the chil¬
dren of men, either by word or writing, as God has revealed to them that speak or write it, by vision,
dream, or inspiration, guiding their minds, their tongue, and pens, by his Holy Spirit, anti giving them
not only ability, but authority, to declare such things in his name, and to preface what they say with,
Thus saith the Lord. In this sense it is said, The prophecy of scripture came not in old time by the will
of man, as other pious moral discourses might, but holy men spake and wrote as they were moved by the
Holy Ghost, 2 Pet. i. 20, 21. The same Holy Spirit that moved upon the face of the waters to produce
the world, moved upon the minds of the prophets to produce the Bible.
* Demonstrat. Evan j vag. 15.
P Apol cap. 20.
t Cosmol. Sacra, lib. 4. cap. 6«
$ Du Pin, Hi«t. of the Canon, lib. 1. cap. 2.
t Cicero do Divin lib 1
VI
PREFACE.
Now I think it is worthy to be observed, that all nations, having had some sense of God and religion,
have likewise had a nation of prophets and prophecy, have had a veneration ft r them, and a desire and
expectation of acquaintance and communion with the gods they worshipped in that way. Witness their
oracles, their augurs, and the many arts of divination they had in use among them, in all the ages, and all
the countries, of the world.
It is commonly urged as an argument against the Atneists, to prove that there is a Gcd, That all na¬
tions of the world acknowledged some god or other, some Being above them, to be worshipped and prayed
to, to be trusted in and praised; the most ignorant and barbarous nations could not avoid the knowledge
of it; the most learned and polite nations could not avoid the belief of it. And this is a sufficient proof
of the general and unanimous consent of mankind to this truth; though far the greatest part of men made
to themselves gods, which yet were no gods. Now I think it may be urged with equal force against the
Deists, for the proof of a divine revelation, that all nations of the world had, and had veneration for, that
which they at least took to be a divine revelation, and could not live without; though in this also they be¬
came vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart u<as darkened. But if there were not a true
Deity, and a true prophecy, there would never have been pretended deities and counterfeit prophecies.
Lycurgus and Numa, those two great lawgivers of the Spartan and Roman commonwealths, brought
their people to an observance of the laws by possessing them with a notion that they had them by divinf.
revelation, and so making it a point of religion to observe them. And those that have been ever so little
conversant with the Greek and Roman histories, as well as with the more ancient ones of Chaldea and
Egypt, cannot but remember what a profound deference their princes and great commanders, and not
their unthinking commonalty only, paid to the oracles and prophets, and the. prognostications of their
soothsayers, which, in all cases of importance, were consulted with abundance of gravity and solemnity;
and how often the resolutions of councils, and the motions of mighty armies, turned upon them, though
thev appeared ever so groundless and far-fetched.
There is a full account given by that learned philosopher and physician, Casper Peucer,* of the many
kinds of divination and prediction used among the Gentiles, by which they took on them to tell the for¬
tune both of states and particular persons. They were all, he says, reduced by Plato to two heads; Di-
vinatio, Mavrin), which was a kind of inspiration, or was thought to be so; the prophet or prophetess
foretelling things to come by an internal flatus or fury; such was the oracle of Apollo at Dclphos, and
that of Jupiter Trophonius; which, with others like them, were famous for many ages, during the pre¬
valency of the kingdom of darkness, but (as appears by some of the Pagan writers themselves) they were
all silenced and struck dumb, when the gospel (that truly divine oracle) began to be preached to the na¬
tions. The other kind of divination was that which he calls 0'imi<rrt*.», which was a prognostication
by signs, according to rules of art, as by the flight of birds, the entrails of beasts, by stars or mete¬
ors, and abundance of ominous accidents, with which a foolish world was miserably imposed upon. A
large account of this matter we have also in the late learned dissertations of Anton. Van Dale, to which
I refer the reader, f
But nothing of this kind made a greater noise in the Gentile world than the oracles of the Sybils, and
their prophecies; their name signifies a divine counsel: Sibyllx, qu. Siobulse; Sios, in the fEolic dialect,
being put for Theos. Peucer says, Almost every nation had its Sibyls, but those of Greece were most
celebrated. They lived in several ages; the most ancient is said to be the Sibylla Delfihica, who lived
before the Trojan war, or about that time. The Sibylla Erythrea was the most noted; she lived about
the time of Alexander the Great. But it was the Sibylla Cumana of whom the story goes, that she pre¬
sented herself, and nine books of oracles, to Tarquinius Superbus, which she offered to sell him at so
vast a rate, that he refused to purchase them, upon which she burnt three, and, upon his second re¬
fusal, the other three, but made him give the same rate for the remaining three, which were deposited
with great care in the Capitol. But those being afterward burnt accidentally with the Capitol, a col¬
lection was made of the other Sibylline oracles, and those are they which Virgil refers to in his fourth
Eclogue. £
All the oracles of the Sibyls that are extant, were put together, and published in Holland not many
years ago, by Servatius Gallxus, in Greek and Latin, with large and learned notes; together with all that
could be met with of the metrical oracles that go under the names of Jupiter, Apollo, Serapis, *md others,
by Joannes Osopxus.
The oracles of the Sibyls were appealed to by many of the Fathers, for the confirmation of the Chris¬
tian religion. Justin Martyr|| appeals with a great deal of assurance, persuading the Greeks to give credit
to that ancient Sibyl, whose works were extant all the world over; and to their testimony, and that of Hy-
daspis, he appeals concerning the general conflagration, and the torments of hell. Clemens Alexandri-
nus§ often quotes the Sibyls’ verses with great respect; so does Lactantius^f; St. Austin.** Dc Civitate
Dei, has the famous acrostic at large, said to be one of the oracles of the Sibylla Erythrea, the first let¬
ters of the verses making ’I»<r»c Xpurrls QiS vii: zZmp — Jesus Christ the Son of God the Saviour. Di¬
vers passages they produce out of these oracles which expressly foretell the coming of the Messiah, his
being born of a virgin, his miracles, his sufferings, particularly his being buffetted, spit upon, crowned
with thorns, having vinegar and gall given him to drink, &c.
Whether these oracles were genuine and authentic or no, has been much controverted among the
learned. Baronius and the Popish writers generally admit and applaud them, and build much upon
them; so do some Protestant writers; Isaac Vossius has written a great deal to support the reputation
of them, and (as I find him quoted by Van Dale) will needs have it that they were formerly a part of
the canon of scripture; and a learned prelate of our own nation, Bishop Montague, pleads largely, and
with great assurance, for their authority, and is of opinion that some of them were divinely inspired.
But many learned men look upon it to be a pious fraud, as they call it; that those verses of the Sibyls,
which speak so very expressly of Christ and the future state, were forged by some Christians, and im¬
posed upon the over-credulous. Huetius,ff though of the Romish church, condemns both the ancient
and modern composures of the Sibyls, and refers his reader, for the proof of their vanity, to the learned
Blondel. Van Dale and Gallxus look upon them to be a forgery. And the truth is, they speak so much
* Hi* Prsacipuifl Bivinationum Gencribus, A. 1591. f De Ver;\ ac Falsa Prophetic, A. 1696. t Vid. Vir". Aaneid, lib. 6.
|| Ad Grrccos Cohortat. juzta finem. $ Apol. 2. p. mihi. 66. 1. IT Quroet. et Reapons v 436
•* Aug. do Civ. Dei, lib 18. cap. 23. ft Demonstrat. p. 748.
PREFACE.
VII
ni' .reparticularly and plainly concerning our Saviour and the future state, than any of the prophets of the
(fid Testament do, that we must conclude St. Paul, who was the apostle of the Gentiles, guilty net only
of a very great omission, (that in all his preaching of the gospel to the Gentiles, and in all his epistles to
the Gentile churches, he never so much as mentions the prophecies of the Sibyls, nor vouches their au¬
thority, as he does that of the Old Testament prophets, in his preaching and writing to the Jews,) but
likewise of a very great mistake, in making it the particular advantage which the Jews had above the
Gentiles, that to them were committed the oracles of God, (Rom. iii. 1, 2.) and that they were the chil¬
dren of the prophets, while he speaks of the Gentiles as sitting in darkness, and being afar off. We can¬
not conceive that heathen women, and those actuated by demons, should speak more clearly and fully of
the Messiah than those holy men did, who, we are sure, were moved by the Holy Ghost; or that the
Gentiles should be instructed with larger and earlier discoveries of the great salvation than that people
of whom, as concerning the flesh, Christ was to come. But enough, if not more than enough, of the pre¬
tenders to prophecy. It is a good remark which the learned Gallieus makes upon the great veneration
which the Romans had for the oracles of the Sibyls, for which he quotes Dionysius Halicarnassccus, OlSh
«Tt fjt-.ar^anr, irTi Inw uri/xt. are Ufit, ic t« CarfxTa — The Romans preserve nothing
with such sacred care, nor do they hold any thing in stich high estimation, as the Sibylline oracles. Hi si
pro vitreis suis thesauris adeo decertarunt, quid nos pro genuinis nostris, a Deo inspiratis! — If they had
such a value for these counterfeits, how precious should the true treasure of the divine oracles be to us!
Of these we come next to speak.
Prophecy, we are sure, was of equal date with the church; for faith comes, not by thinking and seeing,
as philosophy does, but by hearing, by hearing the word of God, Rf m. x. 17. In the antediluvian period
Ad.un received divine revelation in the promise of the Seed of the woman, and, no doubt, communicated
it, in the name of the Lord, to his seed, and was prophet as well as priest, to his numerous family. Enoch
was a prophet, and foretold perhaps the deluge, however, the last judgment, that of the great day: Be¬
hold, the Lord comes, Jude 14. When men began, as a church, to call upon the name of the Lord,
(Gen iv. 26.) or to call themselves by his name, they were blessed with prophets, for the prophecy came
in old time; (2 Pet. i. 21.) it is venerable for its antiquity.
When God renewed his covenant of providence (and that a figure of the covenant of grace) with Noah
and his sons, we soon after find Noah, as a prophet, foretelling, not only the servitude of Canaan, but
G >d’s enlarging Japhetby Christ, and his dwelling in the tents of Shem, Gen. ix. 26, 27. And when,
up. n the general revolt of mankind to idolatry, (as, in the former period, upon the apostacy of Cain)) God
distinguished a church for himself by the call of Abraham, and by his covenant with him and his seed, he
conferred upon him and the other patriarchs the spirit of prophecy; for when he reproved kings for their
sakes, he said, Touch not mine anointed, who have received that unction from the Holy One; and do my
prophets no harm, Ps. cv. 14, 15. And of Abraham, he said expressly, He is a prophet; (Gen. xx. 7.)
for it was with a prophetic eye, as a seer, that Abraham saw Christ’s day, (John viii. 56.) saw it at so
great a distance, and yet with so great an assurance triumphed in it. And Stephen seems to speak of the
first settling of a correspondence between him and God, by which he was established to be a prophet,
when he says, The Goa of glory appeared to him, (Acts vii. 2.) appeared in glory. Jacob upon his death¬
bed, as a prophet, told his sons what should befall them in the last days, (Gen. xlix. 1, 10.) and spake very
particularly concerning the Messiah.
Hitherto was the infancy of the church, and with it of prophecy; it was the dawning of that day; and
that morning light owed its rise to the Sun of righteousness, though he rose not till long after; but it shone
more and more. During the bondage of Israel in Egypt, this, as other glories of the church, was eclipsed;
but as the church made a considerable and memorable advance in the deliverance of Israel out of Egypt,
and the forming of them into a people, so did the Spirit of prophecy in Moses, the illustrious instrument
employed in that great service; and it was by that Spirit that he performed that service; so it is said, Hos.
xii. 13. By a prophet the Lord brought Israel out of Egypt, and by a prophet was he preserved through
the wilderness to Canaan, by Moses as a prophet. It appears, by what God said to Aaron, that there
were then other prophets among them, to whom God made known himself and his will in dreams and vi¬
sions, (Numb. xii. 6.) but to Moses he spake in a peculiar manner, mouth to mouth, even apparently, and
not in dark speeches, Numb. xii. 8. Nay, such a plentiful effusion was there of the Spirit of prophecy at
that time, (because Moses was such a prophet as was to be a type of Christ the great Prophet,) that seme
of his Spirit was put upon seventy elders of Israel at once, and they prophesied, Numb. xi. 25. What
they said, was extraordinary, and not only under the direction of a prophetic inspiration, but under the
constraint of a prophetic impulse; as appears by the case of Eldad and Medad.
When Moses, that great prophet, was lying down, he promised Israel that the Lord God would raise
'.hem up a Prophet of their brethren like unto him, Deut. xviii. 15, 18. In these words, says the learned
Bishop Stillingfieet, * (though in their full and complete sense, they relate to Christ, and to him they are
more than once applied in the New Testament,) there is included a promise of an order of prophets, which
should succeed Moses in the Jewish church, and be the Asyi* — the living oracles among them,
(Acts vii. 38;) by which they might know the mind of God. For, in the next words, he lays down rules
tor the trial of prophets, whether what they said was of God or no. And it is observable, that that pre¬
mise comes in immediately upon an express prohibition of the Pagan rites of divination, and the consulting
of wizards and familiar spirits; “ You shall not need to do that,” (said Moses,) “ for, to vour much better
satisfaction, you shall have prophets divinely inspired, by whom you may know from God himself both
what to do, and what to expect.”
But as Jacob’s dying prophecy concerning the sceptre in Judah, and the lawgiver between his feet, did
not begin to be remarkably fulfilled till David’s time, most of the Judges being of other tribes, so Moses’s
promise of a succession of prophets began not to receive its accomplishment till Samuel’s time, a little be¬
fore the other promise began to emerge and operate; and it was an introduction to the other, for it was by
Samuel, as a prophet, that David was anointed king; which was an intimation that the prophetical office
of our Redeemer should make way, both in the world, and in the heart, for his kingly office; and therefore
when he was asked, Art thou a king'/ (John xviii. 37. ) he answered, not evasively, but very pertinently, I
came to bear witness to the truth; and so to rule as a king, purely by the power "of truth.
* Ori". Sacr. B. 2. c 4.
PREFACE.
viii
During the government of the Judges, there was a pouring out of the Spirit, but more as a Spirit of con¬
duct and courage for war, than as a Spirit of prophecy. Deborah is indeed called a prophetess, because
of her extraordinary qualifications forjudging Israel; but that is the only mention of prophecy, that 1 ri
member, in all the book of Judges. Extraordinary messages were sent by angels, as to Gideon and Ma
noah; and it is expressly said, that before the word of the Lord came to Samuel, (1 Sam. iii. 1.) it was
precious, it was very scarce, there was no open vision. And it was therefore with more than ordinary
solemnity that the word of the Lord came first to Samuel; and by degrees notice and assurance were given
to all Israel, that Samuel was established to be a prophet of the Lord, v. 20.
In Samuel’s time, and by him, the schools of the prophets were erected, by which prophecy was digni¬
fied, and provision made for a succession of prophets; for it should seem, that, in those colleges, hopeful
young men were bred up in devotion, in a constant attendance upon the instruction the prophets gave from
< rod, and under a strict discipline, as candidates, or probationers, for prophecy, who were called the sons
■jf the prophets; and their religious exercises of prayer, conference, and psalmody especially, are called
prophecyings; and their prefect, or president, is called their father, 1 Sam. x. 12. Out of these, God,
ordinarily, chose the prophets he sent; yet not always: Amos was no prophet, or prophet’s son, (Amos
vii. 14. ) had not his education in the schools of the prophets, and yet was commissioned to go on God’s er¬
rands, and (which is observable) though he had not an academical education himself, yet he seems to speak
of it with great respect, when he reckons it among the favours God had bestowed upon Israel, that he
raised up of their sons for prophets, and of their young men for JVazarites, Amos ii. 11.
It is worth noting, that when the glory of the priesthood was eclipsed by the iniquity of the house of
Eli, the desolations of Shiloh, and the obscurity of the ark, there was then a' more plentiful effusion of the
Spirit of prophecy than had been before; a standing ministry of another kind was thereby erected, and a
succession of it kept up. And thus afterwards, in the kingdom of the ten tribes, where there was no legal
priesthood at all, yet there were prophets and prophets’ sons; in Ahab’s time, we meet with a hundred of
them, whom Obadiah hid by fifty in a cave, 1 Kings xviii. 4. When the people of God, who desired to
know his mind, wanted one way of instruction, God furnished them with another, and a less ceremonious
one; for he left not himself without witness, nor them without a guide. And when they had no temple or
altar, that they could attend upon with any safety or satisfaction, they had private meetings at the pro¬
phets’ houses, to which the devout faithful worshippers of God resorted, (as we find the good Shunamite
did, 2 Kings iv. 23. ) and where they kept their new-moons, and their sabbaths, comfortably, and to their
edification.
David was himself a prophet; so St. Peter calls him; (Acts ii. 30.) and though we read not of God’s
speaking to him by dreams and visions, yet we are sure that Me Spirit of the Lord spake by him, and his
word was in his tongue; (2 Sam. xxiii. 2.) and he had those about him, that were seers, that were his
seers, as Gad and Iddo, that brought him messages from God, and wrote the history of his times. And
now the productions of the Spirit of prophecy were translated into the service of the temple, not only in
the model of the house which the Lord made David understand in writing by his hand upon him, (1 Chron.
xxviii. 19.) but in the worship performed there; for there we find Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun, pro¬
phesying with harps and other musical instruments, according to the order of the king, not to foretell things
to come, but to give thanks, and to praise the Lord; (1 Chron. xxv. 1 — 3.) yet, in their psalms, they
spake much of Christ and his kingdom, and the glory to be revealed.
In the succeeding reigns, both of Judah and Israel, we frequently meet with prophets sent on particulai
errands to Rehoboam, Jeroboam, Asa, and other kings, who, it is probable, instructed the people in the
things of God at other times, though it is not recorded. But prophecy growing into contempt with many,
God revived the honour of it, and put a new lustre upon it, in the power given to Elijah and Elisha to
work miracles, and the great things that God did by them, for the confirming of the people’s faith in it,
and the awakening of their regard to it, 2 Kings ii. 3. — iv. 1, 38. — v. 22. — vi. 1. In their time, and by their
agency, it should seem, the schools of the prophets were revived, and we find the sons of the prophets,
fellows of those sacred colleges, employed in carrying messages to the great men, as to Ahab, (1 Kings
xx. 35.) and to Jehu, 2 Kings ix. 1.
Hitherto, the prophets of the Lord delivered tlieir messages by word of mouth; only we read of one
writing which came from Elijah the prophet to Jehoram king of Israel, 2 Chron. xxi. 12. The histories
of those times, which are left us, were compiled by prophets, under a divine direction; and when the
Old Testament is divided into the Law and the Prophets, the historical books are, for that reason, rec¬
koned among the prophets. But, in the latter times of the kingdoms of Judah and Israel, some of the pro¬
phets were divinely inspired to write their prophecies, or abstracts of them, and to leave them upon record,
for the benefit of after ages, that the children which should be born might praise the Lord for them, and,
by comparing the event with the prediction, might have their faith confirmed. And, probably, those later
prophets spake more fully and plainly of the Messiah and his kingdom than their predecessors had done,
and for that reason their prophecies were putin writing, not only for the encouragement of the pious Jews
that looked for the consolation of Israel, but for the use of us Christians, upon whom the ends of the world
are come, as David’s psalms had been for the same reason, that the Old Testament and the New might
mutually give light and lustre to each other. Many other faithful prophets there were at the same time,
who spake in God’s name, who did not commit their prophecies to writing, but were of those whom God
sent, rising up betimes, and sending them; the contempt of whom, and of their messages, brought ruin
without remedy upon that sottish people, that knew not the day of their visitation.
In their captivity, they had some prophets, some to show them how long; and though it was not by ;;
prophet, like Moses, that they were brought up out of Babylon, as they had been out of Egypt, but by
Joshua the High Priest first, and afterward by Ezra the scribe, to show that God can do his work by or
dinary means when he pleases; yet, soon after their return, the Spirit of prophecy was poured out plenti¬
fully, and continued (according to the Jews’ computation) forty years in the second temple, but ceased in
Malachi. Then (say the Rabbins) the Holy Spirit was taken from Israel, and they had the benefit only
of the Bathkdl, the daughter of a voice, a voice from heaven, which they look upon to be the lowest de¬
gree of divine revelation. Now herein they are witnesses against themselves for rejecting the true Mes¬
siah; for our Lord Jesus, and he only, was spoken to by a voice from heaven at his baptism, his transfigu
ration, and his entrance on his sufferings.
In John the Baptist prophecy revived, and therefore in him the gospel is said to begin, when the churc*
PREFACE.
IX
find had no prophets for above 300 years. We have not only the vox populi — the voice of the people, to prove
John a prophet, for all the people counted him so, but vox Dei — the voice of God too; for Christ calls
him a prophet, Matth. xi. 9, 10. He had an extraordinary commission from God to call people tore
pent.mce, was filled with the Holy Ghost from his mother's womb, and was therefore called the prophet
of the Highest, because he went before the face of the Lord, to prepare his way; (Luke i. 15, 16.) and
though he did no miracle, nor gave any sign or wonder, yet this proved him a true prophet, that all he
said of Christ was true, John x. 41. Nay, and this proved him more than a prophet, than any of the
other prophets, that whereas by other prophets Christ was discovered as at a great distance, by him he
was discovered as already come, and he was enabled to say, Behold the Lamb of God.
But after the ascension of our Lord Jesus there was a more plentiful effusion of the Spirit of prophecy
than ever before; then was the promise fulfilled, that God would pour out his Spirit upon all flesh, (and
not as hitherto upon the Jews only,) and their sons and their daughters should prophesy, Acts ii. 16, & c.
The gift of tongues was one new product of the Spirit of prophecy, and given for a particular reason,
that the Jewish pale being taken down, all nations might be brought into the church. These and other
gifts of prophecy', being for a sign, are long since ceased, and laid aside, and we have no encouragement
to expect the revival of them; but, on the contrary, are directed to call the scriptures the more sure word
of prophecy, more sure than voices from heaven; and to them we are directed to take heed, to search
them, and to hold them fast, 2 Pet. i. 19. All God’s spiritual Israel know that they are established to
be the oracles of God, (1 Sam. iii. 20.) and if any add to, or take from, the book of that prophecy, they
may read their doom in the close of it; God shall take blessings from them, and add curses to them,
Rev. xxii. 18, 19.
Now concerning the prophets of the Old Testament, whose writings are before us; observe,
I. That they were all holy men; we are assured by the apostle, that the prophecy came in old time by
holy men of God, (and men of God they were commonly called, because they were devoted to him,)
who spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. They were men, subject to like passions as we arc,
(so Elijah, one of the greatest of them, is said to have been. Jam. v. 17.) but they were holy men,
men that in the temper of their minds, and the tenour of their lives, were examples of serious piety.
Though there were many pretenders, that, without warrant, said, Thus saith the Lord, when he sent
them not; and some that prophesied in Christ’s name, but he never knew them, and they indeed were
workers of iniquity; (Matth. vii. 22, 23.) and though the cursing, blaspheming lips of Balaam and Caia-
phas, even then when they actually designed mischief, were overruled to speak oracles; yet none were
emploved and commissioned to speak as prophets, but those that had received the Spirit of grace and
sanctification; for holiness becomes God’s house.
The Jewish doctors universally agree in this rule. That the Spirit of prophecy never rests upon any but
a holy and wise man, and one whose passions are allayed;* or, as others express it, an humble man, and
a man of fortitude; one that has power to keep his sensual, animal part in due subjection to religion and
right reason. And some of themf give this rule; That the Spirit of prophecy does not reside where
there are either, on the one hand, grief and melancholy, or, on the other hand, laughter and lightness of
behaviour, and impertinent, idle talk: and it is commonly observed by them, both from the musical in
struments used in the schools of the prophets in Samuel’s time, and from the instance of Elisha’s calling
fra minstrel, (2 Kings iii. 15.) that the divine presence does not reside with sadness, but with cheerful¬
ness; and Elisha, they say, had not yet recovered himself from the sorrow he conceived at parting with
Elijah. They have also a tradition, (but I know no ground for it,) that all the while Jacob mourned for
Joseph, the Shechinah, or Holy Spirit, withdrew from him. Yet I believe, when David intimates that
by Ins sin in the matter of Uriah he had lost the right Spirit, and the free Spirit, Ps. li. 10, 12. (which
therefore he begs might be renewed in him, and restored to him,) it was not because he was under grief,
but because he was under guilt. And therefore, in order to the return of that right and free Spirit, he
prays that God would create in him a clean heart.
It. That they had all a full assurance in themselves of their divine mission; and (though they could net
always prevail to satisfy others) they were abundantly satisfied themselves, that what they delivered as
from God, and in his name, was indeed from him ; and with the same assurance did the apostles speak of
the word of life, as that which they had heard, and seen, and looked on, and which their hands had
handled, 1 John i. 1. Nathan spake from himself, when he encouraged David to build the temple, but
afterward knew he spake from God, when, in his name, he forbade him to doit.
God had various ways of making known to his prophets the messages they were to deliver to his people;
it should seem, ordinarily, to have been by the ministry of angels. In the Apocalypse, Christ is expressly
said to have signified by his angel to his servant John, Rev. i. 1. It was sometimes done in a vision, when
the prophet was awake; sometimes in a dream, when the prophet was asleep; and sometimes bv a secret
nut strong impression upon the mind of the prophet. But Maimonides has laid down, as a maxim, Tha!
all prophecy makes itself known to the prophet that it is prophecy indeed; that is, says another of the
Rabbins, By the vigour and liveliness of the perception, whereby he apprehends the thing propounded;
(which Jeremiah intimates when he says, The word of the Lord was as a fire in my bones, Jer. xx. 9.)
and therefore they always spake with great assurance, knowing they should be justified. Isa. 1. 7.
III. That in their prophesying, both in receiving their message from God, and in delivering it to the
people, they always kept possession of their own souls, Dan. x. 8. Though sometimes their bodily
strength was overpowered by the abundance of the revelations, and their eyes dazzled with the visionary
light, as in the instances of Daniel and John, (Rev. i. 17.) yet still their understanding remained with
them, and the free exercise of their reason. This is excellently well expressed by a learned writer cf
our own;}: “ The prophetical Spirit, seating itself in the rational powers, as well as in the imagination,
did never alienate the mind, but inform and enlighten it; and they that were actuated bv it, alwavs mair-
t lined a clearness and consistency of reason, with strength and solidity rf judgment. For,” (says lie after
w',rds,§) “ God did not make use of idiots or fools to reveal his will by, but such whose intellectuals were
entire and perfect; and he imprinted such a clear copy of his truth upon them, as that it became then
own sense, being digested fully into their understandings, so that they were able to deliver and represent
: toothers, as truly as any can point forth his own thoughts.” God’s messengers were speaking men,
•tot speaking trumpets.
* Sec Mr. Smith of Prophecy. * 'Jemara Schnb. r. 2. t Smith of Prophecy, p. 190. $ Pag. 26G.
Vol. iv. — B
PREFACE.
The Fathers frequently took notice of this difference between the prophets of the Lord and the false
prophets — that the pretenders to prophecy (who either were actuated by an evil spirit, or were under
the force of a heated imagination) underwent alienations of mind, and delivered what they had to say ir.
the utmost agitation and disorder, as the Pythian prophetess, who delivered her infernal oracles witl.
many antic gestures, tearing her hair, and foaming at the mouth. And by this rule they condemned the
Montanists, who pretended to prophecy, in the second century, that what they said was in a way of ec-
stacy, not like rational men, but like men in a frenzy. Chrysostom,* having described the furious, violent
motions of the pretenders to prophecy, adds, 'O Si n^<p»Ti); ii#: — A true prophet does not do so, Sed
mcnte sobrid, isf constanti animi statu, ist intelligens qure profert, omnia jironunciat — He understands
what be utters , and utters it soberly and calmly. And Jerom, in his preface to his Commentaries upi n
Nahum, observes, that it is called the book of the vision of Nahum; Non enim loquitur h sko-t d?u, sect est
liber intelligentis omnia quee loquitur — For he speaks not in an ecstacy, but as one who understands every
thing he says. And again,! JVon ut amens loquitur propheta, nec in tnorem insanientium fsminarum
d at sine mente sonum — The prophet speaks not as an insane person , nor, like women wrought into a fury,
does he utter sound nvithout sense.
IV. That they all aimed at one and the same thing, which was, to bring people to repent of their sins,
and to return to God, and to do their duty to him. This was the errand on which all God’s messengers
were sent, to beat down sin, and to revive and advance serious piety; the burthen of every song was,
Turn ye now every one from his evil way ; amend your ways and your doings, and execute judgment
between a man and his neighbour, Jer. vii. 3, 5. See Zech. vii. 8, 9. — viii. 16. The scope and design
of all their prophecies were, to enforce the precepts and sanctions of the law of Moses, the moral law,
which is of universal and perpetual obligation. Here is nothing of the ceremonial institutes, of the carnal
ordinances, that were imposed only till the times of reformation, Heb. ix. 10. These were now waxing
old, and ready to vanish away; but they make it their business to press the great and weighty matters of
the law, judgment, mercy, and truth.
V. That they all bare witness to Jesus Christ, and had an eye to him. God’s raising up the horn of sal¬
vation for us, in the house of his servant David, was consonant to, and in pursuance of, what he spake by
the mouth of his holy prophets, which have been since the world began, Luke i. 69, "0. They prophesied
of the grace that should come to us, and it was the Spirit of Christ in them, one and the same Spirit, that
testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow, 1 Pet. i. 10, 11. Christ
was then made known, and yet comparatively hid, in the predictions of the prophets, as before in the
types of the ceremonial law. And the learned HuetiusJ observes it as really admirable, that so many
persons in different ages, should conspire with one consent, as it were, to foretell, some one particular,
and others another, concerning Christ, all which had, at length, their full accomplishment in him. Ab
ipsis mundi incunabulis, per quatuor annorum millia, uno ore venturum Christum priedixerunt viri
complures, in ejusque ortu, vita, virtutibus, rebus gestis, morte, ac Iota denique 0’nu.v.ui* prxmonstranda
consenserunt — From the earliest period of time for 4000 years, a great number of men have predicted
the advent of Christ, and presented an harmonious statement of his birth, life, character, act ons, and
death , and of that economy which he came to establish.
VI. That these prophets were generally hated and abused in their several generations bv those that
lived with them. Stephen challenges his judges to produce an instance to the contrary; fThich of the
'irophets have not your fathers persecuted? Yea, and, as it should seem, for this reason, because they
showed before of the coming of the Just One, Acts vii. 52. Some there were, that trembled at the word
of God in their mouths, but by the most they were ridiculed and despised, and (as ministers are now bv
profane people) made a jest of; (Hos. ix. 7.) the prophet was the fool in the play. Wherefore came this
mad fellow unto thee? (2 Kings ix. 11.) said one of the captains concerning one of the sons of the prophets!
The Gentiles never treated their false prophets so ill as the Jews did their true prophets, but, on the
contrary, had them always in veneration. The Jews’ mocking of the messengers of the Lord, killing of
the prophets, and stoning of them that were sent unto them, was as amazing, unaccc untable an instance of
the enmity that is in the carnal mind against God, as any that can be produced. And this makes their
rejection of Christ’s gospel the less strange, that the Spirit of prophecy, which, for many ages, was so
much the glory of Israel, in every age met with so much opposition, and there were those that always
resisted the Holy Ghost in the prophets, and turned that glory into shame, Acts vii. 51. But this was it
that was the measure-filling sin of Israel, that brought upon them both their first destruction by the Chal
deans, and their final ruin by the Romans, 2 Chron. xxxvi. 16.
VII. That though men slighted these prophets, God owned them, and put honour upon them. As
they were men of God, his immediate servants, and his messengers, so he always showed himself the
I.ord God of the holy prophets, (Rev. xxii. 6.) stood by them and strengthened them, and by his Spirit
they were full of power; and those that slighted them, when they had lost them, were made to know, to
their confusion, that a prophet had been among them. What was said < f one of the primitive fathers of
the prophets, was true of them all, The Lord was with them, and did let none of their words fall to the
ground, 1 Sam. iii. 19. What they said by way of warning and encouragement, for the enforcing of their
calls to repentance and reformation, was to be understood cenditionallv. When God spake by them
either, on the one hand, to build and to plant, or, on the other hand, to pluck up and pull down, the
change of the people’s way might produce a change of God’s way, (Jer. xviii. 7 — 10.) such was Jois h’s
prophecy of Nineveh’s min within forty days; or God might sometimes be better than his word in grant¬
ing a reprieve. But what they said by way of prediction of a particular matter, and ; s a sign, did always
come to pass exactly as it was foretold; yea, and the general predictions, sooner or later, took hold even
of those that would fain have got clear of them; (Zech. i. 6. ) for this is that which God glories in, that hr
confirms the word of his servants, and performs the counsel of his messengers, Isa. xliv. 26.
In opening these prophecies, I have endeavoured to give the genuine sense of them, as f ir as I could
reach it, by consulting the best expositors, considering the scope and coherence, and comparing spiritual
tilings with spiritual, the spiritual things of the Old Testament with those of the New, and especially bv
prayer to God for the conduct and direction of the Spirit of truth. But, after all, there are many things
here dark and hard to be understood, concerning the certain meaning of which though 1 could irt gain
myself, much less expect to give my reader, full satisfaction, yet I have n- 1, with the unlearned and tin
* In 1 Cor. xii. 1. f Prolog, in Tiabac. J Deir.onstrat. Evnng. |>. 737
PREFACE.
xi
stable, wrested them to the destruction of any, 2 Pet. iii. 16. It is the prerogative of the Lamb of God to
take this book, and to open all its seals. I have likewise endeavoured to accommodate these prophecies
to the use and service of those who desire to read the scripture, net only with understanding, hut with
pious affections, and to their edification in faith and holiness. And we shall find that whatever is given
by the inspiration of God is profitable, (2 Tim. iii. 16.) though not all alike profitable, nor all alike easy
or improvable; but when the mystery of God shall be finished, we shall see what we are now bound to
believe, that there is not one idle word in all the prophecies of this book. What God has said, as well as
what he does, we know not now, but we shall know hereafter.
The pleasure I have had in studying and meditating upon those parts of these prophecies which arc-
plain and practical, and especially those which are evangelical, has been an abundant balance to, and re¬
compense for, the harder tasks we have met with in other parts that are more obscure. In many parts
of this field, the treasure must be digged for, as that in the mines; but in other parts the surface is covered
with rich and precious products, with corn, and flocks, of which we may say, as we said of Noah, These
same have comforted us greatly concerning our work, and the toil of our hands, and have made it verv
pleasant and delightful; God grant it may be no less so to the readers!
And now let me desire the assistance of my friends, in setting up my Eben-Ezer here, in a thankful
acknowledgment that hitherto the Lord has helped me. I desire to praise God that he lias spared mv
life to finish the Old Testament, and has graciously given me some tokens of his presence with me in car
rying on of this work; though, the more I reflect upon myself, the more unworthy I see myself of the
honour of being thus employed, and the more need I see of Christ and his merit and grace. Remember
me, 0 my God, for good, and spare me according to the multitude of thy mercies. The Lord forgive
what is mine, and accept what is his own !
I purpose, if God continue my life and health, according to the measure of the grace given to me, and
in a constant and entire dependence upon divine strength, to go through the New Testament in twe
volumes more. I intimated in my preface to the first volume, that I had drawn up some expositions upor.
some parts of the New Testament; namely , The gospels of St. Matthew and St. John; but they are so
large, that to make them bear some proportion to the rest, it is necessary that they be much contracted,
so that I shall be obliged to write them all over again, and to make considerable alterations, and therefore
I cannot expect they should be published but as these hitherto have been, if God permit, a volume every
other year. I shall begin it now shortly, if the Lord will, and apply myself to it as closely as I can; and
I earnestly desire the prayers of all that wish well to the undertaking, that if the Lord spare me to go on
with it, I may be enabled to do it well, and so as that by it some may be led into the riches of the full as¬
surance of understanding in the mystery of God, even of the Father, and of Christ, Col. li. 2. And if
it shall please God to remove me by death before it is finished, I trust I shall be able to say not only.
Welcome his blessed will, but, Welcome that blessed world, in which, though now we know but in part
and prophesy but in part, that knowledge which is perfect will come, and that which is partial, will b-
done away; (1 Cor. xiii. 8. — 10, 12.) in which all our mistakes will be rectified, all our doubts resolved
all our deficiences made up, all our endeavours in preaching, catechizing, and expounding, supersedec
and rendered useless, and all our prayers swallowed up in everlasting praises; in which, prophecy, now
so much admired, shall fail, and tongues shall cease; and the knowledge we have now, shall vanish away,
as the light of the morning-star does when the sun is risen; in which we shall no longer see through a
glass darkly, but face to face. In a believing, comfortable, well-grounded expectation of that true and
perfect light, I desire to continue, living and dying; in a humble and diligent preparation for it, let me
spend my time, and in the full enjoyment of it, O that I may spend a glorious eternity !
Jult 18, 1712.
M. H
AN
EXPOSITION,
WITH
PRACTICAL OBSERVATIONS,
OF THE
BOOK OF THE PROPHET
ISAIAH.
Prophet is a title that sounds very great to those who understand it, though, in the eye of the world,
many of those who were dignified with it, appeared very mean. A prophet is one who has a great in¬
timacy with Heaven, and a great interest there, and, consequently, a commanding authority upon earth.
Prophecy is put for all divine revelation, (2 Pet. i. 20, 21.) because that was most commonly, by
dreams, voices, or visions, communicated to prophets first, and by them to the children of men, Numb,
xii. 6. Once indeed God himself spake to all the thousands of Israel, from the top of Mount Sinai; but
it was so intolerably dreadful, that they entreated God would, for the future, speak to them as he had
done before, by men like themselves, whose terror should not make them afraid, nor their hands be
heavy ufion them. Job xxxiii. 7. God approved the motion; They have well said; (says he, Deut. v
27, 28. ) and the matter was then settled by consent of parties, that we must never expect to hear from
God any more in that way, but by prophets, who received their instructions immediately from God,
with a charge to deliver them to his church. Before the sacred canon of the Old Testament began to
be written, there were prophets, who were instead of Bibles to the church. Our Saviour seems to
reckon Abel among the prophets, Matth. xxiii. 31, 35. Enoch was a prophet; and by him that was
first in prediction, which is to be last in execution — the judgment of the great day; (Jude 14.) Behold,
the Lord comes with his holy myriads. Noah was a preacher of righteousness. God said of Abraham,
He is a firofihet, Gen. xx. 7. Jacob foretold things to come, Gen. xlix. 1. Nay, all the patriarchs are
called firofihets; (Ps. cv. 15.) Do my firofihets no harm. Moses was, beyond all comparison, the most
illustrious of all the Old Testament prophets, for with him the Lord sfiake face to face, Deut. xxxiv.
10. He was the first writing prophet, and by his hand the first foundations of holy writ were laid; even
those who were called to be his assistants in the government, had the Spirit of prophecy, such a plenti¬
ful effusion was there of that Spirit at that time, Numb. xi. 25. But after the death of Moses, for some
ages, the Spirit of the Lord appeared and acted in the church of Israel more as a martial Spirit, than as
a Spirit of prophecy, and inspired men more for acting than speaking; I mean, in the time of the Judges.
We find the Spirit of the Lord coming upon Othniel, Gideon, Samson, and others, for the service of
their country, with their swords, not with their pens; messages were then sent from heaven by angels,
as to Gideon and Manoah, and to the people, Judges ii. 1. In all the book of Judges there is never once
mention of a prophet, only Deborah is called a prophetess; then the word of the Lord was precious,
there was no open vision, 1 Sam. iii. 1. They had the law of Moses, recently written; let them study
that. But in Samuel prophecy revived, and in him a famous epocha, or period, of the church began;
a time of great light in a constant uninterrupted succession of prophets, till some time after the captivity,
when the canon of the Old Testament was completed in Malachi; and then prophecy ceased for near
400 years, till the coming of the great Prophet and his forerunner. Some prophets were divinely in¬
spired to write the histories of the church; but they did not put their names to their writings, thev only
referred themselves for proof to the authentic records of those times, which were known to be drawn
up by prophets, as Gad, Iddo, &c. David and others were prophets, to write sacred songs for the use
of the church. After them, we often read of prophets, sent on particular errands, and raised up for
special public services; among whom the most famous were Elijah and Elisha in the kingdom of Israel
but none of these put their prophecies in writing, nor have we any remains of them but some fragments
in the histories of their times; there was nothing of their own writing, (that I remember,) but one epis¬
tle of Elijah’s, 2 Chron. xxi. 12. But toward the latter end of the kingdoms of Judah and Israel, it
pleased God to direct his servants the prophets, to write and publish some of their sermons, or abstracts
of them. The dates of many of their prophecies are uncertain, but the earliest of them was in the days
of Uzziah king of Judah, and Jeroboam the second, his contemporary, king of Israel, about 200 years
before the captivity, and not long after Joash had slain Zechariah the son of Jehoiada, in the courts of
the temple. If they begin to murder the prophets, yet they shall not murder their prophecies; they
shall remain as witnesses against them. Hosea was the first of the writing prophets; and Joel, Amos,
and Obadiah published their prophecies about the same time. Isaiah began some time after, and not
long; but his prophecy is placed first, because it is the largest of them all, and has most in it of Him to
whom all the prophets bare witness; and indeed, so much of Christ, that he is justly styled the F.van-
14
ISAIAH, 1.
gelical Prophet, and by some of the ancients, a fifth Evangelist. We shall have the general title of
this book, v. 1. and therefore shall here only observe some things,
I. Concerning the prophet himself; he was (if we may believe the tradition of the Jews) of the roj J
family, his father being (they say) brother to king Uzziah: however, he was much at court, especially
in Hezekiah’s time, as we find in his story; to which many think it is owing that his style is more cu¬
rious and polite than that of some other of the prophets, and, in some places, exceedingly lofty and
soaring. The Spirit of God sometimes served his own purpose by the particular genius of the prophet;
for prophets were not speaking trumpets through which the Spirit spake, but speaking otto, by whom
the Spirit spake, making use of their natural powers, in respect both of light and flame, and advancing
them above themselves.
II. Concerning the prophecy; it is transcendently excellent and useful; it was so to the church of God
then, serving for conviction of sin, direction in duty, and consolation in trouble. Two great distresses
of the church are here referred to, and comfort prescribed in reference to them; That by Sennacherib’s
invasion, which happened in his own time, and that of the captivity in Babylon, which happened lone
after; in the supports and encouragements laid up for each of these times of need we find abundance of
the grace of the gospel. There are not so many quotations in the gospels out of any, perhaps not out
of all, the prophecies of the Old Testament, as out of this; nor such express testimonies concerning
Christ; witness that of his being bom of a virgin, (ch. 7. ) and that of his sufferings, ch. 53. The begin¬
ning of this book abounds most with reproofs for sin, and threatenings of judgment; the latter end of it
is full of good words and comfortable words; this method the Spirit of Christ took formerly in the pro¬
phets, and does still; first to convince, and then to comfort; and those who would be blessed with the
comforts, must submit to the convictions. Doubtless, Isaiah preached many sermons, and delivered
many messages, to the people, which are not written in this book, as Christ did; and, probably, these
sermons were delivered more largely and fully than they are here related: but so much is left on record
as Infinite Wisdom thought fit to convey to us on whom the ends of the world are come; and these pro¬
phecies, as well as the histories of Christ, are written, that we might believe on the name of the Son oj
God , and that, believing, we might have life through his name; fir to us is the gospel here preached, as
well as unto them who lived then, and more clearly. O that it may be mixed with faith!
ISAIAH.
CHAP. I.
The first verse of this chapter is intended for a title to the
whole book, and it is probable that this was the first ser¬
mon that this prophet was appointed to publish, and to af¬
fix in writing (as Calvin thinks the custom of the prophets
was] to the door of the temple, as with us proclamations
are nxed to public places, that all might read them; ( Hab.
ii. 2.) and those who would, might take out authentic
copies of them; the original being, after some time, laid
up by the priests among the records of the temple. The
sermon which is contained in this chapter has in it, I. A ;
high charge exhibited, in God’s name, against the Jewish j
church and nation : l. For their ingratitude, v. 2, 3. 2. |
For their incorrigibleness, v. 5. 3. For the universal
corruption and degeneracy of the people, v. 4, 6, 21, 22.
4. For the perversion of justice by their rulers, v. 23. II.
A sad complaint of the judgments of God, which they
had brought upon themselves by their sins, and by which
they were brought almost to utter ruin, v. 7. .9. III. A
just rejection of those shows and shadows of religion,
which they kept up among them, notwithstanding this
general defection and apostasy, v. 10 . . 15. IV. An
earnest call to repentance and reformation, setting be¬
fore them life and death; life if they complied with the
call, and death, if they did not, v. 16. . 20. V. A threat¬
ening of ruin to those who would not be reformed, v. 24,
28. . 31. VI. A promise of a happy reformation at last,
and a return to their primitive purity and prosperity, v.
25 . . 27. And all this is to be applied by us, not only to
the communities we are members of, in their public in¬
terests, but to the state of our own souls.
1 . fTVHE vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz,
I which he saw concerning Judah and
Jerusalem, in the days of Uzziah, Jotham,
Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.
Here is, 1. The name of the prophet, Isaiah; or
Jesahiahu, for so it is in the Hebrew; which, in the
New Testament, is read Esaias. His name signi¬
fies, the salvation of the Lord. A proper name for
a prophet by whom God gives knowledge of salva¬
tion to his people, especially for this prophet, who
prophesies so much of Jesus the Saviour, and the
great salvation wrought out by him. He is said to
be the son of Amoz; not Amos the prophet, the two
names in the Hebrew differ more than in the Eng¬
lish; but, as the Jews think, of Amoz the brother,
or son, of Amaziah king of Judah; a tradition as un¬
certain as that rule which they give, That where a
prophet’s father is named, he also was himself a
prophet. The prophets, pupils and successors, are
indeed often called their sons, but we have few in¬
stances, if any, of their own sons being their succes¬
sors.
2. The nature of the prophecy; it is a vision, be¬
ing revealed to him in a vision, when he was awake,
and heard the words of God, and saw the visions of
the Almighty, as Balaam speaks, (Numb. xxiv. 4. )
though perhaps it was not so illustrious a vision at
first, as that afterwards, ch. vi. 1. The prophets
were called seers, or seeing-men, and therefore theii
prophecies are fitly called visions. It was what he
saw with the eyes of his mind, and foresaw as clear¬
ly by divine revelation, was as well assured of it, as
fully apprised of it, and as much affected with it, as
if he had seen it with his bodily eyes. Note, (1.)
God’s prophets saw what they spake of, knew what
they said, and require our belief of nothing but what
they themselves believed and were sure of, John vi.
69. — 1 John i. 1. (2.) They could not but speak
what they saw; because they saw how much all
about them were concerned jn it, Acts iv. 20. — 2
Cor. iv. 13.
3. The subject of the prophecy; it was what he
saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem, the country
of the two tribes, and that city which was their me¬
tropolis; and there is little in it relating to Ephraim,
or the ten tribes, of whom there is so much in the
prophecy of Hosea. Some chapters there are in
this book, which relate to Babylon, Egypt, Tvre,
and some other neighbouring nations; but it takes
its title from that which is the main substance of it,
and it is therefore said to be concerning Judah and
Jerusalem; the other nations spoken of are such as
the people of the Jews had concerns with. Isaiah
brings to them in aspecial manner, (1.) Instruction,
for it is the privilege of Judah and Jerusalem, that to
them pertain the oracles of God. (2.) Reproof and
threatening; for if in Judah, where God is known,
if in Salem, where his name is great, iniquity be
found, they, sooner than any other, shall be reckon¬
ed with for it. (3.) Comfort and encouragement in
evil times; for the children of Zion shall be joyr il
in their king.
ISAIAH, I. lb
4. The date of the prophecy; he prophesied in
the days of Uzziah , Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah.
jiy this it appears, (1. ) That he prophesied long;
especially if (as the Jews say) he was at last put to
death by Manasseh, to a cruel death, being sawn
asunder; to which some suppose the apostle refers,
Heb. xi. 37. From the year that king Uzziah died,
[eh. vi. 1.) to Hezekiah’s sickness and recovery,
was 47 years; how much before, and after, he pro¬
phesied, is not certain; some reckon 60, and others
80 years in all. It was an honour to him, and a
happiness to his country, that he was continued so
long in, his usefulness: and we must suppose both
that he began young, and that he held out to old
age; for the prophets were not tied, as the priests
were, to a certain age, for the beginning or ending
of their ministration. (2.) That he passed through
a variety of times. Jotham was a good king, and
Hezekiah a better, who, no doubt, gave encourage¬
ment to, and took advice from, this prophet, were
atrons to him, and he privy-counsellor to them;
ut between them, and when Isaiah was in the
prime of his time, the reign of Ahaz was very pro¬
fane and wicked; then, no doubt, he was frowned
upon at court, and, it is likely, forced to abscond;
good men and good ministers must expect bad
times in this world, and prepare for them. Then
religion was run down to that degree, that the doors
of the house of the Lord were shut up, and idola¬
trous altars were erected in every corner of Jerusa¬
lem; and Isaiah, with all his divine eloquence and
messages immediately from God himself, could not
help it The best men, the best ministers, cannot
do the good they would do in the world.
2. Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O
earth ; for the Lord hath spoken : 1 have
nourished and brought up children, and they
have rebelled against me : 3. The ox know-
eth his owner, and the ass his master’s crib:
but Israel doth not know, my people doth
not consider. 4. Ah, sinful nation, a people
laden with iniquity, a seed of evil-doers,
children that are corrupters! they have for¬
saken the Lord, they have provoked the
Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are
gone away backward. 5. Why should ye
be stricken any more? ye will revolt more
and more. The whole head is sick, and
the whole heart faint 6. From the sole of
the foot even unto the head there is no
soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises,
and putrefying sores : they have not been
closed, neither bound up, neither mollified
with ointment 7. Your country is desolate,
your cities are burnt with fire : your land,
strangers devour it in your presence, and it
is desolate, as overthrown by strangers. 8.
And the daughter of Zion is left as a cot¬
tage in a vineyard, as a lodge in a garden
of cucumbers, as a besieged city. 9. Ex¬
cept the Lord of hosts had left unto us a
very small remnant, we should have been
as Sodom, and we should have been like
unto Gomorrah.
We will hope to meet with a bl ighter and more
leasant scene before we come to the end of this
ook ; but truly here, in the beginning of it, every
thing looks very bad, very black, with Judah and
Jerusalem. What is the wilderness of the world,
if the church, the vineyard, have such a dismal as¬
pect as this?
I. The prophet, though he speaks in God’s name,
yet, despairing to gain audience with the children
of his people, addresses himself to the heavens and
the earth, and bespeaks their attention; [v. i. )
Hear, O heavens, and give ear, 0 earth! Sooner
will the inanimate creatures hear, who observe the
law, and answer the end of their creation, than this
stupid senseless people. Let the lights of heaven
shame their darkness, and the fruitfulness of the
earth their barrenness, and the strictness of each t<
its time, their irregularity. Moses begins thus
(Deut. xxxii. 1.) to which the prophet here refers
intimating, that now those times were come, which
Moses there foretold, Deut. xxxi. 29. Or this is
an appeal to heaven and earth, to angels, and then
to the inhabitants of the upper and lower world; let
them judge between God and his vineyard: can
either produce such an instance of ingratitude? Note,
God will be justified when he speaks, and both hea¬
ven and earth shall declare his righteousness, Mic.
vi. 2. Ps. 1. 6.
II. He charges them with base ingratitude, a
crime of the highest nature: call a man ungrateful,
and you can call him no worse: let heaven and
earth hear, and wonder at, 1. God’s gracious deal¬
ings with a peevish provoking people as they were;
“ I have nourished and brought them up as chil¬
dren; they have been well fed and well taught;”
(Deut. xxxii. 6.) “I have magnified and exalted
them:” (so some;) “not only made them grow, but
made them great; not only maintained them, but
preferred them; not only trained them up, but rais¬
ed them high.” Note, We owe the continuance of
our lives, and comforts, and all our advancements,
to God’s fatherly care of us and kindness to us.
2. Their ill-natured conduct toward him, who was
so tender of chem; “ They have rebelled against
me;” or (as some read it) “ they have revolted from
me; they have been deserters, nay, traitors, against
my crown and dignity.” Note, all the instances of
God’s favour to us, as the God both of our nature
and of our nurture, aggravate our treacherous de¬
partures from him, and all our presumptuous oppo¬
sitions to him : children, and yet rebels!
III. He attributes this to their ignorance and in¬
consideration: (tt 3.) The ox knows, but Israel does
not. Observe, 1. The sagacity of the ox and the
ass, which are not only brute creatures, but of the
dullest sort: yet the ox has such a sense of duty, as
to know his owner, and to serve him, to submit to
his yoke, and to draw in it; the ass has such a sense
of interest, as to know his master’s crib or manger,
where he is fed, and to abide by it; he will go to
that of himself, if he is turned loose. A fine pass
man is come to, when he is shamed even in know¬
ledge and understanding by these silly animals; and
is not only sent to school to them, (Prov. vi. 6, 7.)
but set in a form below them, (Jer. viii. 7.) taught
more than the beasts of the earth, (Job xxxv. 11.)
and yet knowing less. 2. The sottishness and stu¬
pidity of Israel. God is their Owner and Proprie¬
tor; he made us, and his we are, more than our cat¬
tle are ours; he has provided well for us; providence
is our M ister’s crib: yet many that are called the
people of God, do not know, and will not consider
this; but ask, “ What is the Almighty, that we
should serve him? He is not our owner; and what
profit shall we have if we pray unto him? He has
no crib for us to feed at.” He had complained (v.
2. ) of the obstinacy of their wills; They have rebelled
against me; here he runs it up to its cause; “ There
fore they have rebelled, because they do not know,
they do not consider.” The understanding is dark
16
ISAIAH, I.
ened, and therefore the whole soul is alienated from
the life of God, Eph. iv. 18. Israel does not know,
though their land was a land of light and know¬
ledge; in Judah is God known, yet, because they
do not live up to what they know, it is, in effect, as
if they did not know. They know; but their know¬
ledge does them no good, because they do not con¬
sider what they know; they do not apply it to
their case, nor their minds to it. Note, (1.) Even
among those that profess themselves G<xl’s people,
that have the advantages, and lie under the engage¬
ments, of his people, there are many that are very
careless in the affairs of their souls. (2.) Inconsi¬
deration of what we do know, is as great an enemy
to us in religion as ignorance of what we should
know. (3.) Therefore men revolt from God, and
rebel against him, because they do not know and
consider their obligations to God, in duty, gratitude,
and interest.
IV. He laments the universal pravity and cor¬
ruption of their church and kingdom ; the disease
of sin was epidemical, and all orders and degrees
of men were infected with it; Ah, sinful nation! v. 4.
The prophet bemoans those that would not bemoan
themselves; Alas for them, wo to them ! He speaks
with a holy indignation at their degeneracy, and a
dread of the consequences of it. See here,
1. How he aggravates their sin, and shows the
malignity that there was in it, v. 4. ( 1. ) The wick¬
edness was universal; they were a sinful nation, the
generality of the people were vicious and profane;
they were so in their national capacity, in the ma¬
nagement of their public treaties abroad, and in the
administration of public justice at home, they Were
corrupt. Note, It is ill with a people when sin be¬
comes national. (2.) It was very great and heinous
in its nature. They were laden with iniquity; the
guilt of it, and the curse incurred by that guilt, lay
very heavy upon them; it was a heavy charge that
was exhibited against them, which they could never
clear themselves from; their wickedness was upon
them as a talent of lead, Zech. v. 7, 8. And their
sin, as it did easily beset them, and they were prone
to it, was a weight upon them, Heb. xii. 1. (3.)
They came of a bad stock, they were a seed of evil¬
doers; treachery ran in the blood, they had it by
kind, which made the matter so much the worse,
more provoking and less curable; they rose up in
their fathers’ stead, and trod in their fathers’ steps,
to fill ufi the measure of their iniquity; (Numb,
xxxii. 14. ) they were a race and family of rebels.
(4.) They were themselves debauched, did what
they could to debauch others; they are not only cor¬
rupt children, bom tainted, but children that are
corrupters, that propagate vice, and infect others
with it; not only sinners, but tempters, not only ac¬
tuated by Satan, but agents for him. If those that
are called children, God’s children, that are looked
upon as belonging to his family, be wicked and vile,
their example is of the most malignant influence.
5.) Their sin was a treacherous departure from
Jod, they were deserters from their allegiance;
They have forsaken the Lord, to whom they had
joined themselves; they are gone away backward;
are alienated or separated from God, have turned
the back upon him, deserted their colours, and quit¬
ted their service; when they were urged forward,
they ran backward, as a bullock unaccustomed to
the yoke, Hos. iv. 16. (6. ) It was an impudent and
daring defiance of him; They have provoked the
Holy One of Israel tinto anger, wilfully and design¬
edly; they knew what would anger him, and that
they did. Note, The backslidingsof those that have
professed religion, and relation to God, are in a spe
cial manner provoking to him.
2. How he illustrates it by a comparison taken
from a sick and diseased body, all overspread with
leprosy, or, like Job’s, with sore boils, v. 5, 6. (1.)
The distemper has seized the vitals, and so threat¬
ens to be mortal. Diseases in the head and heart
are most dangerous; now the head, the whole head,
is sick, the heart, the whole heart, is faint; they
were become corrupt in their judgment, the leprosy
was in their head, they were utterly unclean; their
affection to God and religion was cold and gone; the
things which remained were ready to die away,
Rev. iii. 2. (2.) It has overspread the whole body,
and so becomes exceedingly noisome; From the salt
of the foot even unto the head, from the meanest
peasant to the greatest peer, there is no soundness,
no good principles, no religion, (for that is the
health of the soul,) nothing but wounds and bruises,
guilt and corruption, the sad effects of Adam’s fall;
noisome to the holy God, painful to the sensible
soul; they were so to David, when he complained,
(Ps. xxxviii. 5.) My wounds stink, and are corrupt,
because of my foolishness, Ps. xxxii. 3, 4. No at¬
tempts were made for reformation, or, if they were,
they proved ineffectual; The wounds have not been
closed, nor bound up, nor mollified with ointment.
While sin remains unrepented of, the wounds are
unsearched, unwashed, the proud flesh in them not
cut out, and while consequently, it remains unpar¬
doned, the wounds are not mollified or closed up,
nor any thing done toward the healing of them, and
the preventing of their fatal consequences.
V. He sadly bewails the judgments of God, which
they had brought upon themselves by their sins, and
their incorrigibleness under those judgments.
1. Their kingdom was almost ruined, v. 7. So
miserable were they, that both their towns and their
lands were wasted, and yet so stupid, that they
needed to be told this, and to have it showed them;
“Look, and see how it is; your country is desolate,
the ground is not cultivated, for want of inhabitants,
the villages being deserted, Judg. v. 7. And thus
the fields and vineyards become like deserts, ail
grown over with thorns ; (Prov. xxiv. 31.) your ci¬
ties are burned with fire, by the enemies that invade
you;” (fire and sword commonly go together;) “ as
for the fruits of your land, which should be food
for your families, strangers devour them; and, to
your greater vexation, it is before your eyes, and
you cannot prevent it; you starve, while your ene¬
mies surfeit on that which should be your mainte¬
nance. The overthrow of your country is as the
overthrow of strangers; it is used by the invaders
as one might expect it should be used by stran¬
gers.” — Jerusalem itself, which was as the daugh¬
ter of Zion; (the temple built on Zion was a mother,
a nursing mother, to Jerusalem ;) or Zion itself, the
holy mountain, which had been dear to God as a
daughter, was now lost, deserted, and exposed, as a
cottage in a vineyard, which, when the vintage is
over, nobody dwells in, or takes any care of, and
looks as mean and despicable as a lodge, or hut,
in a garden of cucumbers; and every person is afraid
of coming near it, and solicitous to remove his ef¬
fects out of it, as if it were a besieged city, v. 8.
And some think it is the calamitous state of the
kingdom, that is represented by a diseased body, v
6. Probably, this sermon was preached in the reign
of Ahaz, when Judah was invaded by the kings of
Syria and Israel, the Edomites, and the Philistines,
who slew many, and carried many away into cap¬
tivity, 2 Chron. xxviii. 5, 17, 18. Note, National
impiety and immorality bring national desolation.
Canaan, the glory of all lands, mount Zion, the
joy of the whole earth, both became a reproach
and a ruin; and sin made them so, that great mia-
chief-maker.
2. Yet they were not at all reformed, and there¬
fore God threatens to take another course with
them; (v. 5.) “ Why should ye be stricken any
ISAIAH, J.
mure, with any expectation of doing you good by it, j
when you increase revolts as your rebukes are in¬
creased? You will revolt more and more, as you
have done;” as Ahaz particularly did, who, in his
distress, trespassed yet more against the Lord, 2
Chron. x’xviii. 22. Thus the physician, when he
sees the patient’s case desperate, troubles him no
more with physic; and the father resolves to cor¬
rect his child no more, when, finding him hardened,
ne determines to disinherit him. Note, (1.) There
are those who are made worse by the methods God
takes to make them better; the more they are
stricken, the more they revolt; their corruptions,
instead of being mortified, are irritated and exas-
erated, by their afflictions, and their hearts more
ardened. (2. ) God sometimes, in a way of righ¬
teous judgment, ceases to correct those who have
been long incorrigible, and whom therefore he de¬
signs to destroy. The reprobate silver shall be cast,
not into the furnace, but to the dunghill, Jer. vi. 29,
30. See Ezek. xxiv. 13. Hos. iv. 14. He that is
filthy, let him be filthy still.
VI. He comforts himself with the consideration
of a remnant that should be the monuments of di¬
vine grace and mercy, notwithstanding this general
corruption and desolation, v. 9. See here, 1. How
near they were to an utter extirpation; they were
almost like Sodom and Gomorrah, in respect both
of sin and ruin, grown almost so bad, that there
could not have been found ten righteous men among
them, and almost so miserable, that none had been
left alive, but their country turned into a sulphu¬
reous lake. Divine Justice said, Make them as Ad-
mah, set them as Zeboim; but Mercy said, How shall
I do it? Hos. xi. 8, 9. 2. What it was that saved
them from it; The Lord of hosts left unto them a
very small remnant , that were kept pure from the
i ommon apostacy, and kept safe and alive from the
common calamity. This is quoted by the apostle,
(Rom. ix. 27.) and applied to those few of the Jew¬
ish nation, who, in his time, embraced Christianity,
when the body of the people rejected it, and in
whom the promises made to the fathers were ac¬
complished. Note, (1.) In the worst of times there
is a remnant preserved from iniquity, and reserved
for mercy, as Noah and his family in the deluge,
Lot and his in the destruction of Sodom. Divine
grace triumphs in distinguishing by an act of sove¬
reignty. (2.) This remnant is often a very small
one, in comparison with the vast numbers of revolt¬
ing ruined sinners. Multitude is no mark of the
true church; Christ’s is a little flock. (3.) It is
God’s work to sanctify and save some, when others
are left to perish in their impurity; it is the work
of his power, as the Lord of hosts; except he had
left us that remnant, there had been none left; the
corrupters (x>. 4.) did what they could to debauch
all, and the devourers (to 7.) to destroy all; and
they would have prevailed, if God himself had not
interposed to secure to himself a remnant, who are
bound to give him all the glory. (4.) It is good for
a people that have been saved from utter ruin, to
look back, and see how near they were to it, just
upon the brink of it, to see how much they owed to
a few good men that stood in the gap, and that that
was owing to a good God, who left them these good
men. It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not
consumed.
1 0. Hear the word of the Lord, ye rulers
of Sodom; give ear unto the law of our
God, ye people of Gomorrah ; 11. To what
purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices
unto me? saith the Lord : I am full of the
burnt-offerings of rams, and the fat of fed
beasts ; and I delight not in the blood of
Vol. iv — C
bullocks, or of lambs, or of ne- goals. 12.
When ye come to appear before me, who
hath required this at your hand to tread my
courts? 13. Bring no more vain oblations:
incense is an abomination unto me : the
new-moons and sabbaths, the calling of as¬
semblies, I cannot away with : it is iniquity,
even the solemn meeting. 1 4. \ our new-
moons and your appointed feasts my soul
hateth : they are a trouble unto me ; I am
weary to bear them. 15. And when ye spread
forth your hands I will hide mine eyes from
you ; yea, when ye make many prayers I will
not hear : your hands are full of blood.
Here,
I. God calls to them, (but calls in vain,) to hear
his word, v. 10. 1. The title he gives them is very
strange, Ye rulers of Sodom, and Ye people of Go-
morrah. This intimates what a righteous thing it
had been with God to make them like Sodom and
Gomorrah, in respect of ruin; ( v . 9.) because they
had made themselves like Sodom and Gomorrah,
in respect of sin. The men of Sodom were wicked,
and sinners before the Lord exceedingly, (Gen. xiii.
13. ) and so were the men of Judah ; when the rulers
were bad, no wonder the people were so. V ice
overpowered virtue, for it had the rulers, the men
of figure, on its side; and it outpolled it, for it had
the people, the men of number, on its side: the
streams being thus strong, no less a power than that
of the Lord of hosts could secure a remnant, v. 9.
The rulers are boldly attacked here by the prophet,
as rulers of Sodom, for he knew not how to give flat¬
tering titles; the tradition of the Jews is, that for this
he was impeached long after, and put to death, as
having cursed the gods, and spoken evil of the ruler
of his people. 2. "His demand upon them is very-
reasonable; “ Hear the word of the Lord, and give
ear to the law of our God; attend to that which God
has to say to you, and let his word be a law to yrcu.”
The following declaration of dislike to their sacri¬
fices, would be a kind of new law to them; though
really it was but an explication of the old law; but
special regard is to be had to it, as is required to the
like, Ps. 1. 7, 8. “ Hear this, and tremble; hear it,
and take warning.”
II. He justly refuses to hear their prayers and ac¬
cept their services, their sacrifices and burnt-offer¬
ings, the fat and blood of them, (x». 11.) their atten¬
dance in his courts, (y. 12.) their oblations, their
incense, and their solemn assemblies, (v. 13.) their
new-moons, and their appointed feasts, (x>. 14.) their
devoutest addresses; (v. 15.) they are all rejected,
because their hands were full of blood. N ow observe,
1. There are many who are strangers, nay ene¬
mies, to the power of religion, and yet seem very-
zealous for the show and shadow and form of it.
This sinful nation, this seed of evil-doers, these ru¬
lers of Sodom and people of Gomorrah, brought not
to the altars of false gods, (they are not here charged
with that,) but to the altar of the God of Israel,
sacrifices, a multitude of them, as many as the_ law
required, and rather more, not only peace-offerings,
which they themselves had their share of, but burnt-
offerings, which were wholly consumed to the ho¬
nour of God; nor did they bring the torn, and lame,
and sick, but fed beasts, and the fat of them, the
best of the kind: they did not send others to offer
their sacrifices for them, but came themselves tr
appear before God; they observed the instituted
places, not in high-places, or groves, but in God’s
own courts; and the instituted time, the new-moons.
[ and sabbaths, and appointed feasts, none of which.
IK ISAIAH, 1.
they omitted; nay, it should seem, they called ex- !
traordinary assemblies, and held solemn meetings, I
f jr religious worship, beside those that God had ap¬
pointed; vet this was not all, they applied them¬
selves to God not only with their ceremonial observ¬
ances, hut with the moral instances of devotion; they
prayed, they prayed often, made many prayers,
thinking they should be heard for their much speak¬
ing; nay, they were fervent and importunate in
prayer, they spread forth their hands as men in
earnest. Now we should have thought these, and
no doubt they thought themselves, a pious, religious
people; and yet they were far from being so, for,
( 1. ) Their hearts were empty of true devotion ; they
came to aftfiear before God, (v. 12.) to be seen be¬
fore him; so the margin reads it; they rested in the
outside of the duties, they looked no further than to
be seen of men, and went no further than that which
men see. (2. ) Their hands were full of blood; they
were guilty of murder, rapine, and oppression, un¬
der colour of law and justice. The people shed
blood, and the rulers did not punish them for it; the
rulers shed blood, and the people were aiding and
abetting, as the elders of Jezreel were to Jezebel in
shedding Naboth’s blood. Malice is heart-murder,
in the account of God; he that hates his brother in
his heart, has, in effect, his hands full of blood.
2. When sinners are under the judgments of God,
they will more easily be brought to fly to their de¬
votions, than to forsake their sins, and reform their
lives. Their country was now desolate, and their
cities burnt; ( v. 7.) and this awakened them to
bring their sacrifices and offerings to God more con¬
stantly than they had done, as if they would bribe
God Almighty to remove the punishment, and give
them leave to go on in the sin. When he slew them,
then they sought him, Ps. lxxviii. 34. Lord, in
trouble have they visited thee, ch. xxvi. 16. Many
that will readily part with their sacrifices, will not
be persuaded to part with their sins.
3. The most pompous and costly devotions of
wicked people, without a thorough reformation of
the heart and life, are so far from being acceptable
to God, that really they are an abomination to him.
It is showed here in a great variety of expressions,
that to obey is better than sacrifice ; nay, that sacri¬
fice, without obedience, is a jest, an affront and pro¬
vocation to God. The comparative neglect which
God here expresses of ceremonial observances, was
a tacit intimation of what they would come to at last,
when they would all be done away by the death of
Christ; what was now made little of, would, in due
time, be made nothing of. Sacrifice and offering,
and prayer made in the virtue of that, thou wouldest
not; then said I, Lo, I come. Their sacrifices are
here represented,
(1.) As fruitless and insignificant. To what pur¬
pose is it? v. 11. They are vain oblations, v. 13.
In vain do they worshifi me, Matth. xv. 9. It was
all lost labour, and served not to answer any good
intention; for, [4. ] It was not looked upon as any act
of duty or obedience to God; Who has required these
things at your hands? v. 12. Not that God disowns
nis institutions, or refuses to stand by his own war¬
rants; but in what they did they hail not an eve to
Him that required it, nor indeed did he require it
of them, whose hands were full of blood, and who
continued impenitent. [2.] It did not recommend
them to God’s favour; he delighted not in the blood
of their sacrifices, for he did not look upon himself
as honoured by it. [3.] It would not obtain any re¬
lief for them. They pray, but God will not hear,
because they regard iniquity; (Ps. lxvi. 18.) he
would not deliver them, for though they make many
prayers, none of them came from an upright heart.
All their religious services turned to no account to
them. Nay, ||
(2. ; As odious and offensive, God did not only •’Ot
accept them, but he did detest and abhor them.
“They are your sacrifices, they are none of mine;
I am full of them, even surfeited with them.” He
needed them not, (Ps. 1. 10.) did not desire them,
had had enough of them, and more than enough.
Their coming into his courts he calls treading them,
or trampling upon them, their very attendance on
his ordinances was construed into a contempt ot
them. Their incense, though ever so fragrant, was
an abomination to him, for it was burnt ir. hypocrisy,
and with an ill design. Their solemn assemblies h<
could not away with, could not see them with an)
patience, nor bear the affront they gave him. Tht
solemn meeting is iniquity; though the thing itself
was not, yet, as they managed it, it was. It is a
vexation, (so some read it,) a provocation, to God,
to have ordinances thus prostituted, not only by
wicked people, but to wicked purposes; “ My soul
hates them, they are a trouble to me, a burthen, an
incumbrance; I am perfectly sick of them, and weary
to bear them.” He is never weary of hearing the
prayers of the upright, but soon weary of the costly
sacrifices of the wicked. He hides his eyes from
their prayers, as that which he has an aversion to,
and is angry at.
All this is to show, [1.] That sin is very hateful
to God, so hateful that it makes even men’s prayers
and their religious services hateful to him. [2.]
That dissembled piety is double iniquity. Hypo¬
crisy in religion is of all things most abominable to
the God of heaven. Jerom applies it to the Jews in
Christ’s time, who pretended a great zeal for the
law and the temple, but made themselves and all
their services abominable to God, by filling their
hands with the blood of Christ and his apostles, and
so filling up the measure of their iniquities.
1 6. Wash you, make you clean ; put away
the evil of your doings from before mine
eyes; cease to do evil ; 1 7. Learn to do well :
seek judgment, relieve the oppressed; judge
the fatherless; plead for the widow. 18.
Come now, let us reason together, saith the
Lord : Though your sins be as scarlet, they
shall be as white as snow; though they be
red like crimson, they shall be as wool. 1 9.
If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat
the good of the land : 20. But if ye refuse
and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the
sword: for the mouth of the Lord hath
spoken it.
Though God has rejected their services as insuffi¬
cient to atone for their sins, while they persisted in
them, yet he does not reject them as in a hopeless
condition; but here calls upon them to forsake their
sins, which hindered the acceptance of their servi¬
ces, and then all would be well. Let them not say
that God picked quarrels with them; no, he pro¬
poses a method of reconciliation. Observe here,
1. A call to repentance and reformation ; “ If you
would have your sacrifices accepted, and your
prayers answered, you must begin your work at the
right end; Be converted to my law,” (so the Chal¬
dee begins this exhortation,) “make conscience of
second-table-duties, else expect net to be accepted
in the acts of your devotion. ” As justice and charity
will never atone for atheism and profaneness, so
prayers and sacrifices will never atone for fraud and
oppression; for righteousness toward men is as much
a branch of pure religion, as religion toward God if
a branch of universal righteousness.
1. They must cease to do evil, must do no more
19
ISAIAH, I.
wrong, shed no more innocent blood; that is the
meaning of washing them, and making them clean,
v. 16. It is not only sorrowing for the sin they had
committed, but breaking of!' the practice of it for the
future, and mortifying all those vicious affections
and dispositions which incline them to it. Sin is
defiling to the soul; our business is to wash ourselves
from it bv repenting of it, and turning from it to
God. We must put away not only that evil of our
doings, which is before the eye of the world, by re¬
fraining from the gross acts of sin, but that which is
before God’s eyes, the roots and habits of sin, that
are in our hearts; those must be crushed and mor¬
tified.
2. They must leant to do well. This was neces¬
sary to the completing of their repentance. Note,
It is not enough that we cease to do evil, but we
must learn to do well. (1.) We must be doing; not
cease to do evil, and then stand idle. (2.) We must
be doing good, the good which the Lord our God re-
uires, and which will turn to a good account. (3. )
Ye must do it well, in a right manner, and for a
right end; and, (4.) We must learn to do well, we
must take pains to get the knowledge of our duty,
be inquisitive concerning it, in care about it, and ac¬
custom ourselves to it, that we may readily turn cur
hands to our work, and become masters of this holy
art of doing well.
He urges them particularly to those instances of
well-doing, wherein they had been defective; to se¬
cond-table-duties; “Seek judgment; inquire what is
right, that ye may do it: be solicitous to be found in
the way of your duty, and do not walk at all adven¬
tures; seek opportunities of doing good. Relieve
the oppressed, those whom you yourselves have op¬
pressed; ease them of their burthens, ch. lviii. 6.
You that have power in your hands, use it for the
relief of those whom others do oppress, for that is
your business; right those that suffer wrong; in a
special manner concern yourselves for the fatherless
and the widow, whom, because they are weak and
helpless, proud men trample upon and abuse; do
you appear for them at the bar, on the bench, as
there is occasion; speak for those that know not how
to speak for themselves, and that have not where¬
withal to gratify you for vour kindness.” Note,
W e are truly honouring God when we are doing
good in the world; and acts of justice and charity are
more pleasing to him than all burnt-offerings and
sacrifices.
II. A demonstration, at the bar of right reason,
of the equity of God’s proceeding with them; “ Come
now, and let us reasoti together; {y. 18.) while your
hands are full of blood, I will have nothing to do
with you, though you bring me a multitude of sacri¬
fices: but if you wash you, and make you clean, you
are welcome todraw nigh to me; come now, and let
us talk the matter over. ” Note, Those, and those
only, that break off their league with sin, shall be
welcome into covenant and communion with God;
he says, Come now, who before God forbade them
his courts. See Jam. iv. 8. Or rather thus; there
were those among them who looked upon them¬
selves as offended by the slights God put upon the
multitude of their sacrifices, as ch. lviii. 3. Where¬
fore have we fasted, (say thev,) and thou seest not ?
They represented God as a hard Master, whom it
was impossible to please; “ Come,” says God, “ let
us debate the matter fairly, and I doubt not but to
m ike it out that my ways are equal, but yours are
unequal.” Ezek. xviii. 25. Note, 1. Religion has
re son on its side: there is all the reason in the world
that we should do as God would have us to do. 2.
The God of heaven condescends to reason the case
with those who contradict him and find fault with
ms proceedings, for he will be justified when he
•‘beaks, Ps. li. 4. The case needs only to be stated,
(as it is here very fairly,) and it will determine it
.self. Gcd shows here upon what terms they stood,
(as he does Ezek. xviii. 21, 24. — xxxiii. 18, 19.)
and then leaves it to them to judge whether thev
were not fair.
(1.) They cannot in reason expect any more than
that, it they repent and reform, they should be re¬
stored to God’s favour, notwithstanding theirformer
provocations; “This you may expect,” says God,
“ and it is very kind; who could have the face to de¬
sire it upon any other terms?” [1.] “ It is very lit¬
tle that is required, only that you be willing and
obedient, that you consent to obey;” so some read
it; “ that you subject your wills to" the will of God,
acquiesce in that, and give up yourselves in all
things to be ruled by him that is infinitely wise and
good.” Hereisnopenance imposed for their former
stubbornness, nor the yoke made heavier, or bound
harder, on their necks; only, “Whereas hitherto
you have been perverse and refractory, and would
not comply with that which was for your own good,
now be tractable, be governable. ” He does not say,
“ If you be perfectly obedient,” but, “ If you be wil¬
lingly so;” for if there be a willing mind, it is ac¬
cepted. [2. ] That is very great, which is promised
hereupon, first. That all their sins should be par¬
doned to them, and should not be mentioned against
them ; “ Though they be as red as scarlet and
crimson, though you "lie under the guilt of blood,
yet, upon your repentance, even that shall be for¬
given you, and you shall appear in the sight of God
as white as snow.” Note, The greatest sinners, if
they truly repent, shall have their sins forgiven
them, and so have their consciences pacified ar.d
purified. Though our sins have been as scarlet and
crimson, a deep dye, a double dye, first in the wool
of original corruption, and afterwards in the many
threads of actual transgression, though we have
been often dipped, by our many backslidings, into
sin, and though we have lain long soaking in it, as
the cloth does in the scarlet dye, yet pardoning
mercy will thoroughly discharge the stain, and, be¬
ing by it purged as with hyssop, we shall be clean,
Ps. li. 7. If we make ourselves clean by repentance
and reform ation,(r. 16.) God will make us white bv
a full remission. Secondly, That they should have
all the happiness and comfort they could desire;
“Be but willing and obedient and you shall eat the
good of the land, the land of promise; you shall
have all the blessings of the new covenant, of the
heavenly Canaan; all the good of that land. ” They
that go on in sin, though they dwell in a good land,
cannot with any comfort eat the good of it, guilt im-
bitters all; but if sin be pardoned, creature-comforts
become comforts indeed.
(2. ) They cannot in reason expect any other than
that, if they continue obstinate in their disobedience,
they should be abandoned to ruin, and the sentence
of the law should be executed upon them; what can
be more just? (v. 20.) “ If you refuse and rebel, ii
you continue to rebel against the divine government,
and refuse the effers of divine grace, you shall be
devoured with the sword; with the sword of your
enemies, which shall be commissioned to destroy
you, with the sword of God’s justice, his wrath, anil
vengeance, which shall be drawn against you; for
this is that which the mouth o f the Lord has' spoken,
and which he will make good, for the maintaining
of his own honour.” Note, Those that will not be
governed by God’s sceptre, will certainly and justly
be devoured by his sword. ’
“ And now life and death, good and evil, are thus
set before you; Come and let us reason together.
What have you to object against the equity of this
or against complying with God’s terms?”
21 . How is the faithful city become a hai
'.’0
ISAIAH, 1.
lot! it was full of judgment; righteousness
lodged in it; but now murderers. 22. Thy
silver is become dross, thy wine mixed with
water: 23. Thy princes are rebellious, and
companions of thieves: every one loveth
gifts, and followeth after rewards: they judge
not the fatherless, neither doth the cause of
the widow come unto them. 24. Therefore
saith the Lord, the Lord of hosts, the
Mighty One of Israel, Ah, I will ease me of
mine adversaries, and avenge me of mine
enemies : 25. And I will turn my hand upon
thee, and purely purge away thy dross, and
take away all thy tin : 26. And I will re¬
store thy judges as at the first, and thy coun¬
sellors as at the beginning: afterward thou
shalt be called, The city of righteousness,
Tire faithful city. 27. Zion shall be redeem¬
ed with judgment, and her converts with
righteousness. 28. And the destruction of
the transgressors and of the sinners shall be
together, and they that forsake the Lord
shall be consumed. 29. For they shall be
ashamed of the oaks which ye have desired,
and ye shall be confounded for the gardens
that ye have chosen. 30. For ye shall be
as an oak whose leaf fadeth, and as a gar¬
den that hath no water. 31. And the strong
shall be as tow, and the maker of it as a
spark, and they shall both burn together,
and none shall quench them.
Here,
I. The woful degeneracy of Judah and Jerusalem
is sadly lamented. See, 1. What the royal city had
been; a faithful city, faithful to God and the inte¬
rests of his kingdom among men; faithful to the na¬
tion and its public interests. It was full of judg¬
ment; justice was duly administered upon the thrones
of judgment which were set there, the thrones of
the house of David, Ps. exxii. 5. Men were gene¬
rally honest in their dealings, and abhorred to do an
unjust thing; righteousness lodged in it, was con¬
stantly resident in their palaces and in all their
dwellings, not called in now and then to serve a
turn, but at home there. Note, Neither holy cities,
nor royal ones, neither places where religion is pro¬
fessed, nor places where government is administer¬
ed, are faithful to their trust, if religion do not dwell
in them. 2. What it was now become : that beau¬
teous virtuous spouse was now debauched, and be¬
come an adulteress; righteousness no longer dwelt
in Jerusalem, ( terras Astrsea reliquit — Astrea left
the earth,) even murderers were unpunished, and
lived undisturbed there; nay, the princes themselves
were so cruel and oppressive, that they were be¬
come no better than murderers; an innocent man
might better guard himself against a troop of ban¬
ditti or assassins, than against a bench of such
judges. Note, It is a great aggravation of the wick¬
edness of any family or people, that their ancestors
were famed for virtue and probity; and commonly
Sfcose that thus degenerate, prove the most wicked
* all others. Corrufitio ofitimi est pessima — That
7 :hkh originally mas the best, when corrupted, be-
.onies the worst, Luke xi. 26. Eccl. iii. 16. See
h r xxiii. 15--17.
This is illustrated, (1.) By similitudes; (y. 22.)
Thy silver is become dross; this degeneracy of the
magistrates, whose character is the reverse of that
of their predecessors, is as great a reproach and in¬
jury to the kingdom, as the debasing of their coin
would be, and the turning of their silver into dross.
Righteous princes, and righteous cities, are as silver
for the treasury; but unrighteous ones are as dross
for the dunghill — Dow is the gold become dim ! Lam.
iv. 1. Thy wine is mixed with water, and so is be¬
come flat and sour. Some understand both these
literally; the wine they sold was adulterated, it was
half water; the money they paid was counterfeit,
and so they cheated all they dealt with. But it is
rather to be taken figuratively : justice was pervert¬
ed by their princes; and religion and the word of
God were sophisticated by their priests, and made
to serve what turn they pleased. Dross may shine
like silver, and the wine that is mixed with water
may retain the colour of wine, but neither is worth
any thing. Thus they retained a show and pretence
of virtue and justice, but had no tme sense of either.
(2.) By some instances; ( v . 23.) “Thy princes, that
should keep others in their allegiance to God, and
subjection to his law, are themselves rebellious, and
set God and his law at defiance.” They that should
restrain thieves, proud and rich oppressors, those
worst of robbers, and those that designedly cheat
their creditors, who are no better, they are them¬
selves companions of thieves, connive at them, do as
they do, and with greater security and success, be¬
cause they are princes, and have power in their
hands; they share with the thieves they protect in
their unlawful gain, (Ps. 1. 18.) and cast in their lot
among them, Prov. i. 13, 14. [1.] The profit of
their places is all their aim; to make the best hand
they can of them, right or wrong. They love gifts,
and follow after reward; they set their hearts upon
their salary, the fees and perquisites of their offices,
and are greedy of them, and never think they can
get enough; nay, they will do any thing, though
ever so contrary to law and justice, for a gift in se¬
cret. Presents and gratuities will blind their eyes
at any time, and make them pervert judgment:
these they love, and are eager in the pursuit of,
Hos. iv. 18. [2.] The duty of their places is none
of their care ; they ought to protect those that are
injured, and take cognizance of the appeals made
to them; why else were they preferred? But they
judge not the fatherless, take no care to guard the
orphans, nor does the cause of the widow come unto
them; because the poor widow has no bribe to give,
with which to make way for her, and to bring her
cause on. Those will have a great deal to answei
for, who, when they should be the patrons of the
oppressed, are their greatest oppressors.
II. A resolution is taken up to redress these griev¬
ances; (y. 24.) Therefore saith the Lord, the Lord
of hosts, the Mighty One of Israel, who has power to
make good what he says, who has hosts at command
for the executing of his purposes, and whose power
is engaged for Israel; Ah, I will ease me of mine ad¬
versaries. Observe, 1. Wicked people, especially
wicked rulers that are cruel and oppressive, are
God’s enemies, his adversaries, and shall so be ac¬
counted of, and so dealt with. If the holy seed cor¬
rupt themselves, they are the foes of his own house.
2. They are a burthen to the God of heaven, which
is implied in his easing himself of them; the Mighty
One of Israel, that can bear any thing, nay, that up¬
holds all things, complains of his being wearied with
men’s iniquities, ch. xliii. 24. Amos li. 13. 3. God
will find out a time and a way to ease himself of
this burthen, by avenging himself on those that thus
bear hard upon his patience. He here speaks as
one triumphing in the foresight of it; Ah, I will ease
me. He will ease the earth of the burthen under
which it groans, (Rom. viii. 21, 22.) will ease his
own name of the reproaches with which it is loaded.
in
ISAIAH, 11.
He will be eased of his adversaries, by taking ven¬
geance on hts enemies; he will s/me them out of his
'mouth, and so be eased of them, Rev. iii. 16. He
speaks with pleasure of the clay of vengeance being
in his heart, ch. lxiii. 4. If God’s professing people
conform not to his image, as the Holy One of Israel,
(?'. 4. ) they shall feel the weight of His hand as the
. Mighty One of Israel: his power, which was wont to
be engaged for them, shall be armed against them.
T wo ways God will ease himself of this grievance:
(1.) By reforming his church and restoring good
judges in the room of those corrupt ones. Though
the church has a great deal of dross in it, yet it shall
not be thrown away, but refined; (i>. 25. ) “ I will
purely purge away thy dross; I will amend what is
amiss. Vice and profaneness shall be suppressed,
and put out of countenance; oppressors displaced,
and deprived of their power to do mischief. ” When
things are ever so bad, God can set them to rights,
and bring about a complete reformation; when he
begins, he will make an end, will take away all
the tin.
Observe, [1.] The reformation of a people is
God’s own work ; and, if ever it be done, it is he that
brings it about; “ I will turn my hand upon thee; I
will do that for the reviving of religion, which I did,
at first, for the planting of it.” He can do it easily,
with the turn of his hand; but he does it effectually,
for what opposition can stand before the arm of the
Lord revealed? [2.] He does it by blessing them
with good magistrates, and good ministers ot state;
(n. 26.) “I will restore thy judges, as at the first,
to put the laws into execution against evil-doers;
and thy counsellors, to transact public affairs, as at
the beginning;” either the same persons that had
been turned out, or others of the same character.
[3.] He does it by restoring judgment and righ¬
teousness among them, (y. 27.) by planting in men’s
minds principles of justice, and governing their lives
by those principles. Men may do much by exter¬
nal restraints; hut God does it effectually by the in¬
fluences of his Spirit, as a Spirit of Judgment, ch.
iv. 4. — xxviii. 6. SeePs. lxxxv. 10, 11. [4.] The
reformation of a people will be the redemption of
them and their converts, for sin is the worst cap¬
tivity, the worst slavery; and the great and eternal
redemption is that by which Israel is redeemed from
all his iniquities; (Ps. exxx. 8.) and the blessed Re¬
deemer is he that turns away ungodliness from
Jacob, (Rom. xi. 26.) and saves his people from
their sins, Matth. i. 21. All the redeemed of the
Lord shall be converts, and their conversion is then-
redemption. Her converts, or, they that return of
her; so the margin. God works deliverance for us,
by preparing us for it with judgment and righteous¬
ness. [5.] The reviving of a people’s virtue, is the
restoring of their honour; Afterward thou shall be
called the city of righteousness, the faithful city;
First, Thou shaft fie so; the reforming of the magis¬
tracy is a good step toward the reforming of the city
and the country too. Secondly, Thou shalt have
the praise of being so; and a greater praise there
cannot be to any city, than to be called the city of
righteousness, and to retrieve the ancient honour,
which was lost, when the faithful city became a
harlot, v. 21.
(2.) Bv cutting off those that hate to be reform¬
ed, that they may not remain either as snares, or as
scandals, to the faithful city. [1.] It is an utter
ruin that is here threatened. They shall be de¬
stroyed and consumed, and not chastened and cor¬
rected only. The extirpation of them will be ne¬
cessary to the redemption of Zion. [2.] It is a uni¬
versal ruin, which will involve the transgressors
and the sinners together; the openly profane, that
have quite cast off all religion, and the hypocrites,
that live wicked lives under the cloak cf a religious
J profession — they sliall both be destroyed together;
; tor they are both alike an abomination to God, both
those that contradict religion, and thoSe that con¬
tradict themselves in their pretensions to it. And
they that forsake the Lord, to whom they had for
merly joined themselves, shall be consumed as the
water in the conduit-pipe is soon consumed when it
is cut off from the fountain. [3.] It is an inevitable
ruin; there is no escaping it.
First, Their idols shall not be able to help them;
the oaks which they have desired, and the gardens
which they have chosen; the images, the dunghill-
gods, which they have worshipped in their groves,
and under the green trees, which they were iond of,
and wedded to, for which they forsook the true God,
and which they worshipped privately in their own
gardens, even then when idolatry was publicly dis¬
countenanced. This was the practice of the trans¬
gressors and the sinners; but they shall be ashamed
of it, not with a show of repentance, but of despair,
v. 29. They shall have cause to be ashamed of
them; for after all the court they have made to them,
they shall find no benefit by them; but the idols
themselves shall go into captivity, ch. xlvi. 1, 2.
Note, They that make creatures their confidence,
are but preparing confusion for themselves. You
were fond of the oaks and the gm-dens; but you
yourselves shall be, 1. Like an oak without leaves,
withered and blasted, and stripped of all its orna¬
ments. Justly do those wear no leaves, that bear
no fruit; as the fig-tree that Christ cursed. 2. Like
a garden without water, that is neither rained upon,
nor watered with the foot, (Deut. xi. 10.) that has
no fountains, (Cant. iv. 15.) and consequently, is
parched, and all the fruits of it gone to decay.
Thus shall they be, that trust in idols, or in an arm
of flesh, Jer. xvii. 5, 6. But they that trust in God
never find him as a wilderness, or as waters that
fail, Jer. ii. 31.
Seco?idly, They shall not be able to help them¬
selves; (r. 31.) Fven the strong man shall be as tow;
not only soon broken, and pulled to pieces, but easily
catching fire; and his work, (so the margin reads
it,) that by which he hopes to fortify and secure
himself, shall be as a spark to his own tow, shall
set him on fire, and he and his wofk shall burn to¬
gether. His own counsels shall be his ruin; his own
sin kindles the fire of God’s wrath, which shall burn
to the lowest hell, and none shall quench it. When
the sinner has made himself as tow and stubble,
and God makes himself to him as a consuming fire,
what can prevent the utter ruin of the sinner?
Now all this is applicable, 1. To the blessed work
of reformation, which was wrought in Hezekiah’s
time, after the abominable corruptions of the reign
of Ahaz. Then good men came to be preferred, and
the faces of the wicked were filled with shame. 2.
To their return out of their captivity in Babylon,
which had thoroughly cured them of idolatry. 3.
To the gospel-kingdom, and the pouring out of the
Spirit, by which the New Testament church should
be made a new' Jerusalem, a city of righteousness.
4. To the second coming of Christ, when he shall
thoroughly purge his floor, his field, shall gather
the wheat into his barn, into his garner, and burn
the chaff, the tares, with unquenchable fire.
CHAP. II.
With this chapter begins a new sermon, which is continu¬
ed in the two following: chapters. The subject of thi*
discourse is Judah and Jerusalem, v. 1. In this chapter,
the prophet speaks, I. Of the glory of the Christians, Je
rusalem, the gospel-church in the la! ter days, in the ac¬
cession of many to it, (v. 2, 3.) and the great peace it
should introduce into the world, (v. 4.) whence he infers
the duty of the bouse of Jacob, v. 5. II. Of the shame
of the Jews, Jerusalem, as it then was, and as it would
1 be after its rejecting of the gospel, and being rejected o i
ISAIAH, 11.
God. 1. Their ain was their shame, v. 6..9. 2. God
by his judgments would humble them, and put them to
hame, v. 10. . 17. They should themselves be ashamed
of their confidence in their idols, and in an arm of flesh,
v. 19 . . 22. And now which of these Jerusalems will we
be the inhabitants of? Thai, which is full of the knowledge
of God, which will be our everlasting honour, or that
which is full of horses and chariots, and silver and gold,
and such idols, which will, in the end, be our shame.
I. npHE word that Isaiah the son of
A Amoz saw concerning Judah and
Jerusalem. 2. And it shall come to pass
in the last days, that the mountain of the
Lord’s house shall be established in the top
of the mountains, and shall be exalted
above the hills; and all nations shall flow
unto it. 3. And many people shall go and
say, Come ye, and let us go up to the moun¬
tain of the Lord, to the house of the God
of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways,
and we will walk in his paths: for out of
Zion shall go forth the law, and the word
of the Lord from Jerusalem. 4. And he
shall judge among the nations, and shall re¬
buke many people ; and they shall beat their
swords into ploughshares, and their spears
into pruning-hooks : nation shall not lift up
sword against nation, neither shall they
learn war any more. 5. O house of Jacob,
come ye, and let us walk in the light of the
Lord.
The particular title of this sermon, ( v . 1.) is the
same with the general title of the book; (ch. i. 1.)
only that what is there called the vision, is here
called the word which Isaiah saw, or the matter
or thing, which he saw, the truth of which he had
as full an assurance of in his own mind, as if he had
seen it with his bodily eyes. Or, this word was
brought to him in a vision, he saw something, when
he received this message from God. St. John turn¬
ed to see the voice that spake with him, Rev. i. 12.
This sermon begins with the prophecy relating
to the last days, the days of the Messiah, when
his kingdom should be set up in the world, at
the latter end of the Mosaic economy. In the
last days of the earthly Jerusalem, just before the
destruction of it, this heavenly Jerusalem should be
erected, Heb. xii. 22. Gal. iv. 26. Note, Gospel-
times are the last days. For, 1. They were long in
coming, were a great time waited for by the Old
Testament saints, and came at last. 2. We are not
to look for any dispensation of divine grace, but
what we have in the gospel, Gal. i. 8, 9. 3. We
are to look for the second coming of Jesus Christ at
the end of time, as the Old Testament saints did
for his first coming; this is the last time, 1 John ii. 18.
Now the prophet here foretells,
I. The setting up of the Christian church, and
the planting of the Christian religion in the world.
Christianity shall then be the mountain of the Lord’s
house; where that, is professed, God will grant his
presence, receive his people’s homage, and grant
instruction and blessing, as he did of old in the tem¬
ple of Mount Zion. The gospel-church, incorpo-
r ited by Christ’s charter, shall then be the ren¬
dezvous of all the spiritual seed of Abraham. Now
it is here promised, 1. That Christianity shall be
openly preached and professed; it shall be prepared
(so the margin reads it) in the top of the mountains,
in the view and hearing of all. Hence Christ’s disci¬
ples are compared to a city on a hill, which cannot
be hid, Matth. v. 14. They had many eyes upon
them. Christ himself spake openly to the world,
John xviii. 20. What the apostles did, was not
done in a comer, Acts xxvi. 26. It was the light¬
ing of a beacon, the setting up of a standard. Its
being ever)' where spoken against, supposes that it
was every where spoken of. 2. That it shall be
firmly fixed and rooted; that it shall be established
on the top of the everlasting mountains, built upon
a rock, so that the gates of hell shall not prevail
against it, unless they could pluck up mountains by
the roots. He that dwells safely, is said to dwell
on high, ch. xxxiii. 16. The Lord has founded the
gospei-Zion. 3. That it shall not only overcome
all opposition, but overtop all competition; it shall
be exalted above the hills. This wisdom of God
in a mystery shall outshine all the wisdom of
this world, all its philosophy, and all its politics.
The spiritual worship which it shall introduce,
shall put down the idolatries of the heathen; and
all other institutions in religion shall appear mean
and despicable, in comparison with this. See Ps.
lxviii. 16. Why leap ye, ye high hills ? This is the
hill which God desires to dwell in.
II. The bringing in of the Gentiles into it; 1.
The nations shall be admitted into it, even the un¬
circumcised, who were forbidden to ceme into the
courts of the temple at Jerusalem; the partition-
wall, which kept them out, kept them off, shall be
taken down. 2. sill nations shall flow into it; hav¬
ing liberty of access, they shall improve their li¬
berty, and multitudes shall embrace the Christian
faith. They sh ill flow into it, as streams of water;
which denotes the abundance of converts that the
gospel should make, and their speed and cheerful¬
ness in coming into the church. They shall not be
forced into it, but shall naturally flow into it. Thy
people shall be wilting; all volunteers, Ps. cx. 3.
To Christ shall the gathering of the people be, Gen.
xlix. 10. See ch. lx. 4, 5.
III. The mutual assistance and encouragement
which this confluence of converts shall give to one
another. Their pirus affections and resolutions
shall be so intermixed, that they shall come in,
in one full stream. As when the Jews from all
parts of the country went up thrice a year to wor¬
ship at Jerusalem, they called cn their friends in
the road, and excited them to go along with them,
so shall many of the Gentiles court their relations,
friends, and neighbours, to join with them in em¬
bracing the Christian religion; (v. 3.) “ Come, and
let us go up to the mountain of the Lord; though it
be up hill, and against heart, yet it is the mountain
of the Lord, who will assist the ascent ef our srub
toward him.” Note, Those that are entering into
covenant and communion with God themselves,
should bring as many as they can along with them:
it becomes Christians to provoke one another to
good works, and to further the communion of saints
by inviting one another into it: not, “ Do veu go up
to the mountain of the Lord, and pray for us, and
we will stay at home;” nor, “ We will go, and do
you as you will;” but, “ Come, and let us go, let
us go in concert, that we may strengthen one an¬
other’s hands, and support one another’s reputa¬
tion:” not, “ We will consider of it, and advise
about it, and go hereafter;” but, “ Come, and let
us go forthwith ,” Ps. exxii. 1. Many shall say this;
those that have had it said to them, shall say it to
others. The gospel-church is here called, not only
the mountain of the Lord, but the house of the God
of Jacob; for in it God’s covenant with Jaorb and
his praying seed is kept up, and has its acccmplish-
ment; for to us now, as unto them, he never said,
Seek ye me, in vain, ch. xlv. 19.
Now see here, 1, What they promise them¬
selves, in going up to the mountain of the 1 vj,
ISAIAH, II. 23
There hi will teach us of his ways. Note, God’s
ways are to be learned in his church, in communion
with his people, and in the use of instituted ordi¬
nances; the ways of duty, which he requires us to
walk, in, the ways of grace, in which he walks to¬
wards us. It is God that teaches his people, by his
word and Spirit. It is worth while to take pains to
go up to his holy mountain, to be taught his ways,
tor those who are willing to take that pains, shall
never find it labour in vain. Then shall we know,
if we follow on to know, the Lord. 2. What they
p romise for themselves, and one another; “ If he
will teach us his ivays, we will walk in his paths;
if he will let us know our duty, we will by his grace
make conscience of doing it.” Those who attend
God’s word with this humble resolution, shall not
be sent away without their lesson.
IV. The means by which this shall be brought
about; Out of Zion shall go forth the law, the New
Testament law, the law of Christ; as, of old, the
law of Moses from mount Sinai, even the word of
the Lord from Jerusalem. The gospel is a law, a
law of faith; it is the word of the Lord; it went
forth from Zion, where the temple was built, and
from Jerusalem. Christ himself began in Galilee,
Matth. iv. 23. Luke xxiii. 5. But when he com¬
missioned his apostles to preach the gospel to all na¬
tions, he appointed them to begin at Jerusalem,
Luke xxiv. 47. See Rom. xv. 19. Though most
of them had their home in Galilee, yet they must
stay at Jerusalem, there to receive the promise of
the Spirit, Acts i. 4. And in the temple on Mount
Zion they preached the gospel, Acts v. 20. This
honour was allowed to Jerusalem, even after Christ
was crucified there, for the sake of what it had
been. And it was by this gospel which took rise
from Jerusalem, that the gospel-church was estab¬
lished on the top of the mountains. This was the
rod of divine strength, that was sent forth out of
Zion, Ps. cx. 2.
V. The erecting of the kingdom of the Re¬
deemer in the world; He shall judge among the na¬
tions. He whose word goes forth out of Zion, shall
by that word not only subdue souls to himself, but
rule in them, v. 4. He shall, in wisdom and justice,
order and overrule the affairs of the world for the
good of his church, and rebuke and restrain those
that oppose his interest. By his Spirit working on
men’s consciences, he shall judge and rebuke, shall
try men, and check them; his kingdom is spiritual,
and not of this world.
VI. The great peace which should be the effect
of the success of the gospel in the world; (y. 4.)
They shall beat their swords into ploughshares;
their instruments of war shall be converted into im¬
plements of husbandry; as, on the contrary, when
war is proclaimed, ploughshares are beaten into
swords, Joel iii. 10. Nation shall not then lift up
sword against nation, as now they do, neither shall
they learn war any more, for they shall have no
more occasion for it. This does not make all war
absolutely unlawful among Christians, nor is it a
prophecy that in the days of the Messiah there
shall be no wars. The Jew* urge this against
Christians, as an argument that Jesus is not the
Messiah, because this promise is not fulfilled. But,
1. It was in part fulfilled in the peaceableness of
the time in which Christ was bom, when wars were
in a great measure ceased; witness the taxing,
Luke ii. 1. 2. The design and tendency of the
gospel are to make peace, and to slay all enmities.
It has in it the most powerful obligations and in¬
ducements to peace; so that one might reasonably
have expected it should have had this effect, and it
would have had it, if it had not been for those lusts
of men, from which come wars and fightings. 3.
Jews and Gentiles were reconciled, and brought to- 1
gether, by the gospel, and there were no more such
wars between them as had been; for they became
one sheep-fold under one shepherd, Eph. ii. 15. 4.
The gospel of Christ, as far as it prevails, disposes
men to be peaceable, softens men’s spirits, and
sweetens them; and the love of Christ, shed abroad
in the heart, constrains men to love one another.
5. The primitive Christians were famous for bro¬
therly love; their very adversaries took notice of it.
6. We have reason to hope that this promise shall
yet have a more full accomplishment in the latter
times of the Christian church, when the Spirit shall
be poured out more plentifully from on high. Then
there shall be on earth peace. Who shall live when
God doeth this? But do it he will in due time, for
he is not a man that he should lie.
Lastly, Here is a practical inference drawn from
all this; (v. 5.) O house of Jacob, come ye and let us
walk in the light of the Lord. By the house of Ja¬
cob is meant either, 1. Israel 'according to the flesh.
Let them be provoked by this to a holy emulation.
Rom. xi. 14. “Seeing the Gentiles are thus ready,
and resolved for God, thus forward to go up to the
house of the Lord, let us stir up ourselves to go too.
Let it never be said that the sinners of the Gentiles
were better friends to the holy mountain, than the
house of Jacob.” Thus the zeal of some should
rovoke many. Or, 2. Spiritual Israel, all that are
rought to the God of Jacob. Shall there be such
great knowledge in gospel times, (x>. 3.) and such
great peace? ( v . 4.) And shall we share in these
privileges? Come, then, and let us live accordingly.
Whatever others do, come, O come, let us walk in
the light of the I^ord. (1.) Let us walk circum¬
spectly in the light of this knowledge. Will God
teach us his ways? will he show us his glory in the
face of Christ* Let us then walk as the children of
the light and of the day, Eph. v. 8. 1 Thess. v. 8.
Rom. xiii. 12. (2.) Let us walk circumspectly in the
light of this peace. Shall there be no more war?
Let us then go on our way rejoicing, and let this jov
terminate in God, and be’our strength, Neh. viii. 10.
Thus shall we walk in the beams of the Sun of
righteousness.
6. Therefore thou hast forsaken thy peo¬
ple, the house of Jacob, because they be
replenished from the east, and are sooth
sayers like the Philistines, and they please
themselves in the children of strangers. 7.
Their land also is full of silver and gold,
neither is there any end of their treasures;
their land is also full of horses, neither is
there any end of their chariots. 8. Their
land also is full of idols; they worship the
work ot their own hands, that which their
own fingers have made. 9. And the mean
man boweth down, and the great man hum-
bleth himself: therefore forgive them not.
The calling in of the Gentiles was accompanied
with the rejection of the Jews; it was their fall, and
the diminishing of them, that was the riches of the
Gentiles; and the casting off of them, that was the
reconciling of the world; (Rom. xi. 12- - 15. ) and it
should seem that these verses have reference to
that, and are designed to justify God therein; and
yet, probably, they are primarily intended for the
convincing and awakening of the men of that gene¬
ration in which the prophet lived; it being usual
with the prophets to speak of the things that then
were, both in mercy and judgment, as types of the
things that should be hereafter. Here is,
I. Israel’s doom ; this is set forth in two words.
34 ISAIAH, 11.
ilie first and last of this paragraph; but they are two I
dreadful words, and which speak, 1. Their case [
sad, very sad; (y. 6.) Therefore thou hast forsaken
thy people. Miserable is the condition of that peo¬
ple whom God has forsaken, and great certainly
must the provocation be, if he forsake those that
have been his own people. This was the deplora¬
ble state of the Jewish church after they had re¬
jected Christ; Migremus hinc — Let us go hence.
Your house is left unto you desolate, Matth. xxiii.
38. Whenever anv sore calamity came upon the
Jews, thus far the Lord might be said to forsake
them, when he withdrew his help and succour from
them, else they had not fallen into the hands of
their enemies. But God never leaves any till they
first leave him. 2. Their case desperate, wholly
desperate; ( v . 9.) Therefore forgive them not.
This prophetical prayer amounts to a threatening,
that they should not be forgiven: and so some think
it may be read, And thou wilt not forgive them.
This refers not to particular persons, (many of
whom repented, and were pardoned,) but to the
body of that nation against whom an irreversible
doom was passed, that they should be wholly cut
off, and their church quite dismantled, never to be
formed into such a body again, nor ever to have
their old charter restored to them.
II. Israel’s desert of this doom, and the reasons
upon which it is grounded; in general, it is sin; that
is it, and nothing but that which provokes God to for¬
sake his people. The particular sins he specifies, are
such as abounded among them at that time, which
he makes mention of for the conviction of those to
whom he then preached, rather than that which
afterward proved the measure-filling sin, their cru¬
cifying of Christ, and persecuting of his followers;
tor the sins of every age contributed toward the
making up of the dreadful account at last. And
there was a partial and temporary rejection of
them by the captivity in Babylon hastening on,
which was a type of their final destruction by the
Romans, and which the sins here mentioned brought
upon them.
Their sins were such as directly contradicted
all God’s kind and gracious designs concerning
them.
1. God set them apart for himself, as a peculiar
people distinguished from, and dignified above, all
other people; (Numb, xxiii. 9.) but they were re¬
plenished from the east; they naturalized foreign¬
ers, not proselyted; and encouraged them to settle
among them, and mingled with them, Hos. vii. 8.
Their country was peopled with Syrians and Chal¬
deans, Moabites and Ammonites, and other eastern
nations, and with them they admitted the fashions
and customs of those nations, and pleased themselves
in the children of strangers, were fond of them, pre¬
ferred their country before their own, and thought
that the more they conformed to them, the more
polite and refined they were; thus did they profane
their crown and their covenant. Note, Those are
in danger of being estranged from God, who please
themselves with those who are strangers to him,
for we soon learn the ways of those whose company
we love.
2. God gave them his oracles, which they might
ask counsel of, not only the scriptures, and the seers,
hut the breast-plate o'f judgment; but they slighted
these, and became soothsayers like the Philistines,
introduced their arts of divination, and hearkened
to those who, by the stars, or the clouds, or the
flight of birds, or the entrails of beasts, or other
magic superstitions, pretended to discover things se¬
cret, or foretell things to come; the Philistines were
noted for diviners, 1 Sam. vi. 2. Note, Those who
slight true divinity, are justlv given up to lying di¬
vinations; and they will certainly be forsaken of
!' God, who thus forsake him and their own mercies
1 ! for lying vanities.
3. God encouraged them to put their confidence
in him, and assured them th.it he would be their
Wealth and Strength; but, disti-usting his power
and promise, they made gold their hope, and fur¬
nished themselves with horses and chariots, and re
lied upon them for their safety, x>. 7. God had ex¬
pressly forbidden even their kings to multiply horses
to themselves, and greatly to multiply silver and
gold, because he would have them to depend upon
liimself only; but they did not think their interest in
God made them a match for their neighbours, unless
they had as full treasures of silver and gold, and as
formid; ble hosts of chariots and horses, as they had.
It is not having silver and gold, horses and chariots,
that is a provocation to God, but, (1.) Desiring
them insatiably, so that there is no end of the trea¬
sures, no end of the chariots, no bounds or limits
set to the desire of them. Those shall never have
enough in God, (who alone is all-suflicient,) that
never know when they have enough of this world,
which, at the best, is insufficient. (2.) Depending
upon them, as if we could not be safe, and easy, and
happy, without them, and could not but be so with
them.
4. God himself was their God, the sole Object of
their worship, and he himself 'instituted ordinances
of worship for them; but they slighted both him
and his instljAions; (m 8. ) their land was full of
idols, every city had its god, (Jer. xi. 13.) and, ac¬
cording to the goodness of their lands, they made
goodly images, Hos. x. 1. They that think one
Gcd too little, will find two too many, and yet hun¬
dreds not sufficient; for they that love idols, will
multiply them; so sottish were they, and so wretch¬
edly infatuated, that they worshipped the work of
their own hands; as if that could be a god to them,
which was not only a creature, but their creature,
and that which their own fancies had devised, and
their own fingers had made. It was an aggravation
of their idolatry, that God had enriched them with
silver and gold, and yet of that silver and gold they
made idols; so it was, Jeshurun waxed fat, and
kicked, Hos. ii. 8.
5. God had advanced them, and put honour upon
them; but they basely diminished and disparaged
themselves; (r. 9.) The mean man boweth down to
his idol; a thing below the meanest that have any
spark of reason left them. Sin is a disparagement
to the poorest, and those of the lowest rank. It be¬
comes the mean man to bow down to his superiors,
but it ill becomes him to bow down to the stock of a
tree, ch. xhv. 19. Nor is it only the illiterate and
poor-spirited that do this, but even the great man
forgets his grandeur, and humbles himself to wor¬
ship idols, deifies men no better than himself, and
consecrates stones so much baser than himself.
Idolaters are said to debase themselves even to hell,
ch. lvii. 9. What a shame is it, that great men
think the service of the true God below them, and
will not stoop to it; and yet will humble themselves
to bow down to an idol! Some make this a threaten¬
ing, that the mean men shall be brought down, and
the great men humbled, by the judgments cf God,
when they come with commission.
10. Enter into the rock, and hide thee in
the dust, for fear of the Lord, and for the
glory of his majesty. 11. The lofty loo s
of man shall be humbled, and the haughti¬
ness of men shall be bowed down ; and the
Lord alone shall be exalted in that day.
12. For the day of the Lord of hosts shall
be upon every one that is proud and lofty.
25
ISAIAH, 11.
and ipon every one that is lifted up, and he |
si tall be brought low ; 13. And upon all the
cedars of Lebanon, that are high and lifted '
up, and upon all tbe oaks of Bashan. 14.
And upon all the high mountains, and upon
all the hills that are lifted up. 15. And
upon every high tower, and upon every
fenced wail, 16. And upon all the ships
of Tarshish, and upon all pleasant pictures.
1 7. And the loftiness of man shall be bowed
down, and the haughtiness of men shall be
made low; and the Lord alone shall be
exalted in that day. 18. And the idols he
shall utterly abolish. 19. And they shall
go into the holes of the rocks, and into the
caves of the earth, for fear of the Lord, and
for the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth
to shake terribly the earth. 20. In that day
a man shall cast his idols of silver, and his
idols of gold, which they made each one for
himself to worship, to the moles, and to the
bats; 21. To go into the clefts of the rocks,
and into the tops of the ragged rocks, for
fear of the Lord, and for the glory of his ma¬
jesty, when he ariseth to shake terribly the
earth. 22. Cease ye from man, whose
breath is in his nostrils ; for wherein is he to
be accounted of?
The prophet here goes on to show what desola¬
tions would be brought upon their land, when God
had forsaken them; which may refer particularly to
their destruction by the Chaldeans first, and after¬
wards by the Romans; or it may have a general
respect to the method God takes to awaken and
humble proud sinners, and to put them out of con¬
ceit with that which they delighted in, and depend¬
ed on, more than God.
We are here told, that, sooner or later, God will
find out a way,
I. To startle and awaken secure sinners, who cry
peace to themselves, and bid defiance to God and
his judgments; (v. 10.) “ Enter into the rock; God
will attack you with such terrible judgments, and
strike you with such terrible apprehensions of them,
that you shall be forced to enter into the rock and
hide you in the dust, for fear of the Lord. You
shall lose all your courage, and tremble at the shak¬
ing of a leaf; your heart shall fail you for fear,
(Luke xxi. 26. j and you shall flee when none pur¬
sues," Prov. xxviii. 1. To the same purport, v. 19.
They shall go into the holes of the rocks, and into
the caves of tie earth, the darkest, and the deepest,
places; they shall call to the rocks and mountains
to fall on them, and rather crash them than not co¬
ver them, Hos. x. 8. It was so particularly at the
destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans, (Lukexxiii.
30.) and of the persecuting pagan powers, Rev. vi.
16. And all, for fear of the Lord and of the glory
of his majesty, looking upon him then to be a con¬
suming fire, and themselves as stubble before him,
when he arises to shake terribly the earth, to shake
the wicked out of it, (Job xxxviii. 13.) and to shake
all those earthly props and supports which they
have buoved themselves up with, to shake them
from under them. Note, 1. With God is terrible
majesty, and the glory of it is such as, sooner or la¬
ter, will oblige us all to flee before him. 2. Those
that will not fear God, and flee to him, will be forced
Vol. iv. — D
to fear him, and flee from him to a refuge of lies,
3. It is folly for those that are pursued by the
wrath of God, to think to escape it, and to hide or
to shelter themselves from it. 4. The things of the
earth are things that will be shaken; they are sub¬
ject to concussions, and hastening towards a dissolu¬
tion. 5. The shaking of the earth is, and will be, a
terrible thing to those who set their affections wholly
on things of the earth. 6. It will be in vain to
think of finding refuge in the caves of the earth,
when the earth itself is shaken; there will be no
shelter then but in God, and in things above.
II. To humble and abase proud sinners, that look
big, and think highly of themselves, and scornfully
of all about them; ( v . 11.) The lofty looks of man
shall be humbled; the eyes that aim high, the coun¬
tenance in which the pride of the heart shows itself,
these shall be cast down in shame and despair.
And the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down,
their spirits shall be broken, and they shall be
crest-fallen, and those things which they were
proud of the)- shall be ashamed of. It is repeated
again, (v. 17.) The loftiness of man shall be bowed
down. Note, Pride will, one way or other, have a
fall. Men’s haughtiness will be brought down,
either by the grace of God convincing them of the
evil of their pride, and clothing them with humility,
or by the providence of God depriving them of all .
those things they were proud of, and laying them
low. Our Saviour often laid it down for a maxim,
that he who exalts himself shall be abased; he shall
either abase himself in true repentance, or God will
abase him, and pour contempt upon him. Now
here we are told,
1. Why this shall be done; because the Lord alone
will be exalted. Note, Therefore proud men shall
be vilified, because the Lord alone will be magnified.
It is for the honour of God’s power to humble the
proud; by this he proves himself to be God, and
disproves Job’s pretensions to rival with him; (Job
xl. 11* • 14.) Behold every one that is proud, and.
abase him; then will I also confess unto thee. It is
likewise for the honour of his justice; proud men
stand in competition with God, who is jealous for his
own glory, and will not suffer men either to take
that to themselves, or give it to another, which is
due to him only ; they likewise stand in opposition
to God, they resist him, and therefore he resists
them; for he will be exalted among the heathen,
Ps. xlvi. 10. And there is a day coming in which
he alone will be exalted, when he shall have put
down all opposing rule, principality, and power, 1
Cor. xv. 24.
2. How this shall be done; by humbling judg¬
ments, that shall mortify men, and bring them
down; ( v . 12.) The day of the Lord of hosts, the
dav of his wrath and judgment, shall be upon every
one that is proud; and therefore he now laughs at
their insolence, because he sees that his day is com¬
ing; this dav, which will be upon them ere they are
aware, Ps. xxxvii. 13. This day of the Lord is
here said to be upon all the cedars of Lebanon, that
are high and lifted up. Jerom observes that the
cedars are said to praise God, (Ps. cxlviii. 9.) and
are trees of the Lord, (Ps. civ. 16.) of his planting;
(Isa. xli. 19.) and yet here God’s wrath fastens up¬
on the cedars, which denotes (says he) that some of
every rank of men, some great men, will be saved,
and some perish. It is brought in as an instance of
the strength of God’s voice, that it breaks the cedars;
(Ps. xxix. 5.) and here the day of the Lord is said
to be upon the cedars, those of Lebanon, that were
the straightest and stateliest; upon the oaks, those
of Bashan, that were the strongest and sturdiest;
and (r>. 14.) upon the natural elevations and for¬
tresses, the high mountains, and the hills that arc
lifted up, that overtop the valleys, and seem tt
< 20
ISAIAH, II.
push the skies; and ( v . 15.) upon the artificial fast¬
nesses, every high tower, and every fenced wall.
Understand these,
( 1. ) As representing the proud people themselves,
that are like the cedars and the oaks, in their own
apprehensions firmly rooted, and not to be stirred
by any storm, and looking on all around them as
shrubs; these are the high mountains and the lofty
hills, that seem to fill the earth, that are gazed on
by all, and think themselves immoveable, but lie
most obnoxious to God’s thunderstrokes; Feriunt-
que summos fulmina monies — The highest hills are
most exfiosed to lightning. And before the power
of God’s wrath these mountains are scattered, and
these hills bow and melt like wax, Hab. iii. 6. Ps.
lxviii. 8. These vaunting men, who are as high
towers in which the noisy bells are hung, on which
the thundering murdering cannon are planted, these
fenced walls, that fortify themselves with their na¬
tive hardiness, and intrench themselves in their fast¬
nesses, they shall be brought down.
(2.) As particularizing the things they are proud
of, in which they trust, and of which they make
their boasts. The day of the Lord shall be upon
those very things which they put their confidence in
as their strength and security; he will take from
them all their armour wherein they trusted. Did
the inhabitants of Lebanon glory in their cedars,
and those of Bashan in their oaks, such as no coun¬
try could equal? The day of the Lord should rend
those cedars, those oaks, and the houses built of
them. Did Jerusalem glory in the mountains that
were round about it, as its impregnable fortifica¬
tions, or in its walls and bulwarks? These should
be levelled, and laid low in the day of the Lord.
Beside those things that were for their strength
and safety, they were proud, [1.] Of their trade
abroad; but the day of the Lord shall be upon all
the ships of Tarshish, they shall be broken as Je-
hoshaph it’s were, shall founder at sea, or be ship¬
wrecked in the harbour. Zebulun was a haven of
ships, but should now no more rejoice in his going
out. When God is bringing ruin upon a people, he
sinks all the branches of their revenue. [2. ] Of
their ornaments at home; but the day of the Lord
shall be upon all pleasant pictures, the painting of
their ships, (so some understand it,) or the curious
pieces of painting they brought home in their ships
from other countries, perhaps from Greece, which
afterward was famous for painters. Upon every
thing that is beautiful to behold, so some read it.
Perhaps they were the pictures of their relations,
and, for that reason, pleasant, or of their gods,
which to the idolaters were delectable things; or
they admired them for the fineness of their colours
or strokes. There is no harm in making pictures,
or in adorning our rooms with them, provided they
transgress not either the second or the seventh com¬
mandment. But to place our pictures among our
pleasant things, to be fond of them and proud of
them, to spend that upon them that should be laid
out in charity, and to set our hearts upon them, as
it ill becomes those who have so many substantial
things to take pleasure in, so it provokes God to
strip us all of such vain ornaments.
III. To make idolaters ashamed of their idols,
and of all the affection they have had for them, and
the respect they have paid to them; ( v . 18.) The
idols he shall utterly abolish. When the Lord alone
shall be exalted, ( v . 17. ) he will not only pour con¬
tempt upon proud men, who, like Pharaoh, exalt
themselves against him, but much more upon all
pretended deities, who are rivals with him for di¬
vine honours; they shall be abolished, utterly abol¬
ished; their friends shall desert them, their enemies
shall destroy them, so that, one way or other, an
utter riddance shall be made of them. See here, 1.
The vanity of false gods; they cannot secure them
selves, so far are they from being able to secure
their worshippers. 2. The victory of the true Gcd
over them; for great is the truth, and will prevail.
Dagon fell before the ark, and Baal before the Lord
God of Elijah. The gods of the heathen shall be
famished, (Zeph. ii. 11.) and by degrees shall pe¬
rish, Jer. x. 11. The rightful Sovereign shall tri¬
umph over all pretenders.
And as God will abolish idols, so their worship¬
pers shall abandon them; either from a gracious
conviction of their vanity and falsehood, (as Ephraim,
when he said. What have I to do any more with
idols?) or from a late and sad experience of their
inability to help them, and a woful despair of relief
by them, v. 20. When men are themselves fright¬
ened by the judgments of God into the holes of the
rocks and the caves of the earth, and find that they
do thus in vain shift for their own safety, they shall
cast their idols, which they had made their gods,
and hoped to make their friends in the time of need,
to the moles and to the bats, any whither out cf
sight, that, being freed from the incumbrance of
them, they may go into the clefts of the rocks, for
fear of the Lord, v. 21. Note, (1.) Those that
will not be reasoned out of their sins, sooner or later
shall be frightened out of them. (2. ) God can make
men sicx of those idols that they have been most
fond of; even the idols of silver, and the idols of geld,
the most precious. Covetous men make silver and
gold their idols, money their god; but the time may
come when they may feel it as much their burthen
as ever they made it their confidence, and may find
themselves as much exposed by it as ever they hop¬
ed they should be guarded by it, when it tempts
their enemy, sinks their ship, or retards their flight;
there was a time when the mariners threw the
wares, and even the wheat, into the sea; (Jonah i.
5. Actsxxvii. 38.) and the Syrians cast away their
garments for haste, 2 Kings vii. 15. Or men may
cast it away out of indignation at themselves for
leaning upon such a broken reed. See Ezek. vii.
19. The idolaters here throw away their idols,
because they are ashamed of them, and of their own
folly in trusting to them; or because they are afraid
of having them found in their possession when the
judgments of God are abroad; as the thief throws
away his stolen goods, when he is searched for or
pursued. (3.) The darkest holes, where the moles
and the bats lodge, are the fittest places for idols,
that have eyes, and see not; and God can force men
to cast their own idols there, ( ch . xxx. 22.) when
they are ashamed if the oaks which they have de¬
sired, ch. i. 29. Moab shall be ashamed of Che-
mosh, as the house of Israel was ashamed of Beth-el,
Jer. xlviii. 13. (4.) It is possible that sin may be
both loathed and left, and yet not truly repented of;
loathed, because surfeited on; left, because there is
no opportunity of committing it; yet not repented
of out of any love to God, but only from a slavish
fear of his wrath.
IV. T o make those that have trusted in an arm
of flesh, ashamed of their confidence; (v. 22.)
“ Cease ye from man. The providences of God con¬
cerning you shall speak this aloud to you, and there
fore take warning beforehand, that you may pre¬
vent the uneasiness and shame of a disappointment;
and consider,” 1. How weak man is; His breath is
in his nostrils, puffed out every moment, soon gone
for good and all. Man is a dying creature, and may
die quickly; our nostrils, in which our breath is,
are of the outward parts of the body; what is there
is like one standing at the door, ready to depart,
nay, the doors of the nostrils are always open, the
breath in them may slip away, ere we are aware,
in a moment. Wherein is man then to be account
ed of? Alas, no reckoning is to be made of him.
27
ISAIAH, III.
for lie is not what he seems to be, what he pretends
to be, what we fancy him to be. Man is like to
vanity, nay, he is vanity, he is altogether vanity, he
is less, he is lighter, than vanity, when weighed in
the balance of the sanctuary. 2. How wise there¬
fore they are that cease from man; it is our duty,
it is our interest, to do so. “ Put not your trust in
man, nor make even the greatest and mightiest of
men your confidence; cease to do so. Let not your
eye be to the power of man, for it is finite and limit¬
ed, derived and depending; it is not from him that
vour judgment proceeds: let not him be your fear,
let not him be your hope; but look up to the power
of God, to which all the powers of men are subject
and subordinate; dread his wrath, secure his favour,
take him for your Help, and let your ho/. le be in the
Lord your God.”
CHAP. III.
The prophet, in this chapter, goes on to foretell the desola¬
tions that were coming upon Judah and Jerusalem for
their sins, both that by the Babylonians, and that which
completed their ruin by the Romans; with some of the
grounds of God’s controversy with them. God threatens,
1. To deprive them of all the supports, both of their life
and of their government, v. 1 . . 3. II. To leave them to
fall into confusion and disorder, v. 4, 5, 12. III. To
deny them the blessings of magistracy, v. 6 . . 8. IV. To
strip the daughters of Zion of their ornaments, v. 1 7 . . 24.
V. To lay all waste by the sword of war, v. 25, 26. The
sins that provoked God to deal thus with them, were,
1. Their defiance of God, v. 8. 2. Their impudence, v.
9. 3. The abuse of power to oppression and tyranny, v.
13 . . 15. The pride of the daughters of Zion, v. 16. In
the midst of the chapter, the prophet is directed how to
apply himself to particular persons. (1.) To assure good
people that it should be well with them, notwithstanding
those general calamities, v. 10. (2.) To assure wicked
people that, however God might, in judgment, remember
mercy, yet it should go ill with them, v. 11. O that the
nations of the earth, at this day, would hearken to the
rebukes and warnings which this chapter gives !
I. ~B7'OR, behold, the Lord, the Lord
JC of hosts, doth take away from Jeru¬
salem, and from Judah, the stay and the
staff, the whole stay of bread, and the whole
stay of water. 2. The mighty man, and the
man of war, the judge, and the prophet, and
the prudent, and the ancient, 3. The cap¬
tain of fifty, and the honourable man, and
the counsellor, and the cunning artificer,
and the eloquent orator. 4. And I will
give children to be their princes, and babes
shall rule over them. 5. And the people
shall be oppressed, every one by another,
and every one by his neighbour: the child
shall behave himself proudly against the an¬
cient, and the base against the honourable.
6. When a man shall take hold of his bro¬
ther, of the house of his father, saying, Thou
hast clothing, be thou our ruler, and let this
ruin be under thy hand: 7. In that day
shall he swear, saying, I will not be a healer:
for in my house is neither bread nor cloth¬
ing: make me not a ruler of the people.
3. For Jerusalem is ruined, and Judah is
fallen ; because their tongue and their do¬
ings are against the Lord, to provoke the
eyes of his glory.
t he prophet, in the clr se of the foregoing chap¬
ter, h id given a necessary caution to all, net to put
confidence in man, or any creature; he had also
given a general reason for that caution, taken from
the frailty of human life, and the vanity and weak¬
ness of human powers: here he gives a particular
reason for it — God was now about to ruin all their
creature-confidences, so that they should meet with
nothing but disappointments in all their expecta¬
tions from them, v. 1. The stay and the stun shall
be taken away; all their supports, of what kind so¬
ever, all the things they trusted to, and looked for
help and relief from. Their church and kingdom
were grown old, and going to decay, and they were
(after the manner of aged men, Zech. viii. 4.) lean¬
ing on a staff; now God threatens to take away
their staff, and then they must fall of course; to
take away the stays both of the city and of the
country, of Jerusalem and of Judah, which are in¬
deed stays to one another, and if one fail, the other
feels from it.
He that does this, is the Lord, the Lord of hosts;
Adon, the Lord that is himself the Stay or Founda¬
tion; if that Stay depart, all other stays certainly
break under us, for he is the Strength of them all.
He that is the Lord, the Ruler, that has authority
to do it, and the Lord of hosts, that has ability to
do it, he shall take away the stay and the staff. St.
Jerom refers this to the sensible decay of the Jew¬
ish nation, after they had crucified our Savieur,
Rom. xi. 9, 10. I rather take it as a warning to
all nations not to provoke God: for if they make
him their Enemy, he can, and will, thus make them
miserable. Let us view the particulars:
I. Was their plenty a support to them? It is so
to any people; bread is the staff of life: but God
can take away the whole stay of bread, and the
whole stay of water; and it is just with him to do so,
when fulness of bread becomes an iniquity, (Ezek.
xvi. 49.) and that which was given to be provision
for the life, is made provision for the lusts. He can
take away the bread and the water, by withholding
the rain, Deut. xxviii. 23, 24. Or, if he allow them,
he can take away the stay of bread and the stay
of water, by withholding this blessing, by which man
lives, and not by bread only, and which is the staff of
bread; (Matt. iv. 4.) and then the bread is not nour¬
ishing, the water not refreshing, Hag. i. 6. Christ
is the bread of life and the water of life; if he be
our Stay, we shall find that a good part not to be
taken away, John vi. 27. ch. iv. 14.
II. Was their army a support to them — their
generals and commanders, and military men?
These shall be taken away: either cut erf by the
sword, or so discouraged with the defeats they meet
with, that they shall throw up their commissions,
and resolve to act no more; or they shall be disabled
by sickness, or dispirited, so as to be unfit for busi¬
ness; the mighty man, and the man of war, and
even the inferior officer, the captain of fifty, shall
be removed. It bodes ill with a people when their
valour is lost, and their valiant men. Let not the
strong man therefore glory in his strength, nor any
people trust too much to their mighty men; but let
the strong people glorify God, and the city of the
terrible nations fear him, who can make them weak
and despicable, ch. xxv. 3.
III. W ere their ministers of state a support to
them — their learned men, theirpoliticians, their cler-
gy, their wits and virtuosos? These also should be
taken away; the judges, who were skilled in the laws,
and expert in administering justice, and the pro¬
phets, whom they used to consult in difficult cases,
the prudent, who were celebrated as men of sense
and sagacity above others, and were assistants to tli
judges; the diviners, (so the word is,) those wh •
used unlawful arts, who, though rotten stays, yei
were stayed on; but it may be taken, as we iear
it, in a good sense; the ancients, elders in ag> , ii
28
ISAIAH, III.
office, the honourable man, the gravity of whose
aspect commands reverence, and whose age and
experience make him fit to be a counsellor. Trade
is one great support to a nation, even manufactures
and handicraft trades; and therefore when the old
stay is to be broken, the cunning artificer too shall
be taken away; and the last is the eloquent orator,
the man skilful of speech, who in some cases may
do good service, though he be none of the prudent
or the ancient, by putting the sense of others in good
language; Moses cannot speak well, but Aaron can.
God threatens to take these away, 1. To disable
them for the service of their country; making the
judges fools, taking away the sfieech of the trusty,
and the understanding of the aged. Job xii. 17, 8cc.
Every creature is that to us, that God makes it to
be ; and we cannot be sure that those who have been
serviceable to us, shall always be so. 2. To put an
end to their days; for princes are therefore not to be
trusted in, because their breath goeth forth, Ps.
cxlvi. 3, 4. Note, The removal of useful men by
death, in the midst of their usefulness, is a very
threatening symptom to any people.
IV. Was their government a support to them?
It ought to be so, it is the business of the sovereign
to bear up the pillars of the land, Ps. lxxv. 3. But
it is here threatened that this stay should fail them.
When the mighty men and the prudent are remov¬
ed, Children shall be their princes; children in age,
who must be under tutors and governors, who will
be clashing with one another, and making a prey of
the young king and his kingdom; children in under¬
standing and disposition, childish men, such as are
babes in knowledge, no more fit to rule than a child
in the cradle, these shall rule over them, with all the
folly, fickleness, and frowardness, of a child. And,
reo unto thee, O land, when thy king is such a one!
Ecc.l. x. 16.
V. Was the union of the subjects among them¬
selves, their good order, and the good understanding
and correspondence that they kept with one an¬
other, a stay to them? Where this is, a people may
do better, though their princes be not such as they
should be ; but it is here threatened that God would
send an evil spirit among them too, (as Judg. ix.
23.) which would make them, 1. Injuriousandun-
neighbnurly one towards another; {v. 5.) The peo¬
ple shall be oppressed every one by his neighbour;
and their princes being children, take no care to
restrain the oppressors, or relieve the oppressed;
nor is it to any purpose to appeal to them, (which
is a temptation to every man to be his own avenger;)
and then they bite and devour one another, and will
soon lie consumed one of another. Then Homo ho-
mmi lupus — Man becomes a wolf to man. Jusquc da¬
tum sceleri — Wickedness receives the stamp of law.
jYec hospesab hospite tutus — The guest and the host
are in danger from each other. 2. Insolent and dis¬
orderly towards their superiors. It is as ill an
omen to a people as can be, when the rising genera¬
tion among them are generally untractable, rude,
and ungovernable, when the child behaves himself
proudly against the ancient; whereas he should
rise up before the hoary head, and honour the face
oj theold man, Lev. xix. 32. When young people
are conceited and pert, and carry it scornfully to¬
ward their superiors, it is not only a reproach to
themselves, but of ill consequence to the public; it
slackens the reins of government, and weakens the
hands that hold them. It is likewise ill with a peo¬
ple when persons of honour cannot support their
authority, but are affronted by the base and beg¬
garly; when judges are insulted by the mob, and
their powers set at defiance. Those have a great
deni to answer for, who do this.
VI. Is it some stay, some support, to hope that,
though matters mat' be now ill managed, yet others
! maybe raised up, who may manage better? Yet this
expectation also shall be frustrated, for the case
shall be so desperate, that no man of sense or sub¬
stance will meddle with it.
1. The government shall go a begging, v. 5.
Here, (1. ) It is taken for granted that there is no
way of redressing all these grievances, and bringing
things into order again, but by good magistrates,
who shall be invested with power by common con¬
sent, and shall exert that power for the good cf the
community. And it is probable that this was, in
many places, the true origin of government; men
found it necessary to unite in a subjection to one
who was thought fit for such a trust, in order to the
welfare and safety of them all; being aware that
they must either be ruled or ruined. Here there¬
fore is the original contract; “ Be thou our ruler,
and we will be subject to thee, and let this ruin be
under thy hand, to be repaired and restored, and
then to be preserved and established, and the inter¬
ests of it advanced, ch. lviii. 12. Take care to pro¬
tect us by the sword of war from being injured from
abroad, and by the sword of justice from being in¬
jurious one to another, and we will bear faith and true
allegiance to thee. ” (2. ) The case is represented as
very deplorable, and things were come to a sad pass;
for, [1.] Children being their princes, every man
will think himself fit to prescribe who shall be a ma¬
gistrate, and will be for preferring his own relations;
whereas, if the princes were as they should be, it
would be left entirely to them to nominate the rulers,
as it ought to be. [2.] Men will find themselves un¬
der a necessity even of forcing power into the hands
of those that are thought to be fit for it; a man shall
take hold by violence of one to make him a ruler,
perceiving him ready to resist the motion; nay, he
shall urge it upon his brother; whereas commonly,
men are not willing that their equals should be their
superiors; witness the envy of Joseph’s brethren.
[3.] It will be looked upon as ground sufficient for
the preferring of a man to be a ruler, that he has
clothing better than his neighbours; a very poor
qualification to recommend a man to a place of trust
in the government: it was a sign that the country
was much impoverished, when it was a rare thing
to find a man that had good clothes, or that could
afford to buy himself an alderman’s gown, or a
judge’s robe; and that the people were very un¬
thinking, when they had so much respect to a man
in gay clothing, with a gold ring, (Jam. ii. 2, 3.) that,
for the sake thereof, they would make him their
ruler. It had been some sense to have said, “ Thcu
hast wisdom, integrity, experience; be thou cur
ruler;” but it was a jest to say, Thou hast clothing;
be thou our ruler. A poor wise man, though in
vile raiment, delivered a city, Eccl. ix. 15. We
may allude to this, to show how desperate the case
of fallen man was, when our Lord Jesus was pleas
ed to become our Brother, and, though he was not
courted, offered himself to be ourRulerand Saviour,
and to take this ruin under his hand.
2. Those who are thus pressed to come into office,
will swear themselves off, because, though they are
taken to be men of some substance, yet they know
themselves unable to bear the charges of the r ffice,
and to answer the expectations of those that choose
them, v. 7. He shall swear, (shall lift up the hand,
the ancient ceremony used in taking an oath,) I will
not be a healer, make not me a ruler. Note, Rulers
must be healers, and good rulers will be so; they
must study to unite their subjects, and not widen
the differences that are among them; those only are
fit for government, that are of a meek, quiet, heal¬
ing spirit: they must also heal the wounds that are
given to any of the interests of their people, by suit
able applications. But why will he not be a ruler?
Because in my house is neither bread nor clothing.
29
ISAIAH, III.
(1.) If he said true, it was a sign that men’s estates
were sadly ruined, when even those who made the
best appearance, really wanted necessaries; a com¬
mon case, and a piteous one; some, who, having
lived fashionably, are willing to put the best side
outward, are yet, if the truth were known, in great
straits, and go with heavy hearts, for want of bread
and clothing. (2.) If lie'didnot speak truth, it was
a sign that men’s consciences were sadly debauched,
when, to avoid the expense of an office, they would
load themselves with the guilt of perjury, and
(which is the greatest madness in the world)' would
damn their souls to save their money. Mutth. xvi.
26. (3.) However it was, it was a sign that the case
of the nation was very bad, when nobody was willing
to accept a place in the government of it, as despair¬
ing to hav e either credit or profit by it, which are
tlte two things aimed at in men’s common ambition
of preform out.
3. The reason why God brought things to this
sad pass, even among his own people; (which is
giv en either by the prophet, or by him that refused
to be a ruler;) it was not for want' of good will to his
country, but because he saw the case desperate,
and past relief, and it would be to no purpose to
att nipt it; (n. 8.) Jerusalem is ruined, and Judah
is fallen; and they may thank themselves, they have
brought their destruction upon their own heads, for
their tongue and their doings are against the
Lord; in word and action they brake the law of
God, and therein designed an affront to him ; they
wilfully intended to offend him, in contempt of his au¬
thority, and defiance of his justice: their tongue was
against the Lord, for they contradicted his prophets;
and their doings were no better, they acted as they
talked; it was an aggravation of their sin, that God’s
eye was upon them, and that his glory was mani¬
fested among them; but they provoked him to his
face, as if the more they knew of his glory, the
greater pride they took in slighting it, and turning
'it into shame. And this, this is it, for which Jerusa¬
lem is ruined. Note, the ruin both of persons and
people is owing to their sins. If they did not pro¬
voke God, he would do them no hurt, Jer. xxv. 6.
9. The show of their countenance doth
witness against them, and they declare their
sin as Sodom, they hide it not: Wo unto
their soul ! For they have rewarded evil
unto themselves. 10. Say ye to the righte¬
ous, that it shrill be well with him ; for they
shall eat the fruit of their doings. 11.
Wo unto the wicked ! Tt shall be ill with
him ; for the reward of his hands shall be
given him. 12. As far my people, children are
their oppressors, and women rule over them.
O my people, they which lead thee cause
thee to err, and destroy the way of thy paths.
1 3. The Loan standeth up to plead, and
standeth to judge the people. 14. The
Loan will enter into judgment with the
ancients of his people, and the princes
thereof : for ye have eaten up the vineyard ;
the spoil of the poor is in your houses. 1 5.
What mean ye that ye beat my people to
pieces, and grind the faces of the poor ?
saith the Lord God of hosts.
Hers God proceeds in his controversy with his
p ' pie. Observe,
I. The ground of his controversy; it was for sin
that God contended with them; if they vex then;
selves, let them look a little further, and they will
see that they must thank themselves; IVo unto
their souls ! For they have rewarded evil unto them¬
selves. jilas for their souls ! (so it may be read,
in a way of lamentation,) for they have f irocured
evil to themselves, v. 9. Note, 1. The condition
of sinners is woful and very deplorable. 2. It is
the soul that is damaged and endangered by sin.
Sinners may prosper in their outward estates, and
yet at the same time there may be a wo to their
souls. 3. Whatever evil befalls sinners, it is of their
own procuring, Jer. ii. 19.
That which is here charged upon them, is,
(1.) That the shame which should restrain them
from their sins, was quite thrown off, and they were
grown impudent, v. 9. This hardens men against
repentance, and ripens them for ruin, as much as
any thing; The show of their countenance doth witness
against them, that their minds are vain, and lewd,
and malicious; their eyes speak it plain, that thev
cannot cease from sin, 2 Pet. ii. 14. One may look
them in the face, and guess at the desperate wick¬
edness that there is in their hearts; They declare
their sin as Sodom; so impetuous, so imperious, are
their lusts, and so impatient of the least check; ; nd
so perfectly are all the remaining sparks of virtue
extinguished in them. The Sodcmites declared
their sin, not onlv by the exceeding greatness of it,
(Gen.xiii. 13.) so that it cried to heaven, (Gen.
xviii. 20.) but by their shameless owning of that
which was most shameful; (Gen. xix. 5.) and thus
Judah and Jerusalem did: they were so far from
hiding it, that they gloried in it, in the bold attempt
they made upon virtue, and the victory they gained
over their own convictions: they had a whore’s
forehead, (Jer. iii. 3.) and could not blush, (Jer. vi.
15.) Note, Those that are grown impudent in sin,
arc ripe for ruin ; they that are past shame, (we sav,)
are past grace, and then past hope.
(2.) That their guides, who should direct them
in the right way, put them out of the way, v. 12.
“They who lead, (the princes, priests, and pro¬
phets,) mislead thee, they cause thee to err.” Ei¬
ther they preached to them that which was false and
corrupt, or if they preached that which was true
and good, they contradicted it by their practices;
and the people would sooner follow a bad example
than a good exhortation: thus they destroyed the
way of their paths, pulling down with one hand
what thev built up with the other. Qui te beati-
ficant — They that call thee blessed, cause thee to
err; so some read it. Their priests applauded
them, as if nothing was amiss among them; cried,
Peace, peace, to them, as if they were in no dan¬
ger; and thus they caused them to go on in their
errors.
(3.) That their judges who should have patron¬
ized and protected the oppressed, were themselves
the greatest oppressors, v. 14, 15. The elders of
the people, and the princes, who had learning, and
could not but know better things, who had great
estates, and were not under the temptation of neces¬
sity to encroach upon those about them, and who
were men of honour, and should scorn to do a base
thing, yet they have eaten up the vineyard. God’s
vineyard, which they were appointed to be the
dressers and keepers of, they burnt; so the word
signifies; they did as ill bv it as its worst enemies
could do, Ps.' lxxx. 16. Or the vineyards of the
poor; thev wrested them out of their possession, ?'
Jezebel did Naboth’s; or devoured the fruits of
them, fed their lusts with that which should have
been the necessary food of indigent families; the
spoil of the poor was hoarded up in their houses;
when God came to search for stolen goods, their
he found it, and it wras a witness against them. P
30
ISAIAH, III.
was to ne had, and they might have made restitu¬
tion, but would not. God reasons with those great
men; (to 15.) “ What mean you, that ye oeat my
/ leofile in pieces? What cause have you for it ?
What good does it do you ?” Or, “ What hurt have
they done you ? Do you think you have power given
you for such a purpose as this ?” Note, There is
nothing more unaccountable, and yet nothing which
must more certainly be accounted for, than the in-
luries and abuses that are done to God’s people by
their persecutors and oppressors; “ Ye grind the
face of the poor; ye put them into as much pain
and terror as if they were ground in a mill, and as
certainly reduce them to dust by one act of oppres¬
sion after another. Or, “ Their faces are bruised
and crushed with the blows you have given them;
you have not only ruined their estates, but given
them personal abuses.” Our Lord Jesus was smit¬
ten on the face, Matt. xxvi. 67.
II. The management of this controversy; 1. God
himself is the Prosecutor; (x\ 13.) The Lord
stands up to plead, or he sets himself to debate the
matter, and he stands to judge the people, to judge
for those that were oppressed and abused; and he
will enter into judgment with the princes, v. 14.
Note, The greatest men cannot exempt or secure
themselves from the scrutiny and sentence of God’s
judgment, nor demur to the jurisdiction of the court
of heaven. 2. The indictment is proved by the
notorious evidence of the fact; “Look upon the
oppressors, and the show of their countenance
witnesses against them; (y. 9.) look upon the op¬
pressed, and you see how their faces are battered
and abused,” v. 15. 3. The controversy is already
begun, in the change of the ministry; to punish
those that had abused their power to bad purposes,
God sets those over them, that had not sense to use
it to any good purpose; Children are their oppres¬
sors, and women rule over them, (y. 12.) men that
have as weak judgments, and strong passions, as
women and children: this was their sin, that their
rulers were such, and it became a judgment upon
them.
III. The distinction that shall be made between
particular persons, in the prosecution of this con¬
troversy; ( v . 10, 11.) Say to the righteous. It shall
be well with thee. Wo to the wicked, it shall be ill
with him. He had said, (u. 9.) they have reward¬
ed evil to themselves; and to prove that, he here
shows that God will render to every man accord¬
ing to his works. Had they been righteous, it
had been well with them; but if it be ill with them,
it is because they are wicked, and will be so. Thus
God stated the matter to Cain, to convince him
that he had no reason to be angry, Gen. iv. 7. Or
it may be taken thus; God is threatening national
judgments, which will ruin the public interests.
Now, 1. Some good people might fear that they
should be involved in that ruin, and therefore God
bids the prophets comfort them against those fears;
“ Whatever becomes of the unrighteous nation, say
ye to the righteous man, that ye shall not be lost in
the crowd of sinners, the Judge of all the earth
will not slay the righteous with the wicked; (Gen.
xviii. 25.) no, assure him in God’s name, that if
shall be well with him. The property of the trouble
shall be altered to him, and he shall be hid in the
dan of the Lord’s anger. He shall have divine
supports and comforts, which shall abound as afflic¬
tions abound, and so it shall be well with him.”
When the whole stay of bread is taken away, yet
in the day of famine they shall be satisfied , they
shall eat the fruit, of their doings; they shall have
th e t estimony of their consciences for them, that they
k' pt themselves pure from the common iniquity,
an I therefore the common calamity is not the same
thing to them that it is to otners; they brought no
fuel to the flame, and therefore are not themselves
fuel for it. 2. Some wicked people might hope
that they should escape that ruin, and therefore
God bids the prophets shake their vain hopes;
“ Wo to the wicked, it shall be ill with him-, (y.
11.) to him the judgments shall have a sting, and
there shall be wormwood and gall in the affliction
and misery.” There is a wo to wicked people,
and though they may think to shelter themselves
from public judgment, yet it shall be ill with them;
it will grow worse and worse with them if they re¬
pent not, and the worst of all will be at last; for the
reward of his hands shall be done to him, in the day
when every man shall receive according to the
things done in the body.
16. Moreover, the Lord saith, Because
the daughters of Zion are haughty, and
walked with stretched-forth necks and wan¬
ton eyes, walking, and mincing as they go,
and making a tinkling with their feet : 1 7.
Therefore the Lord will smite with a scab
the crown of the head of the daughters of
Zion, and the Lord will discover their
secret parts. 18. In that day the Lord
will take away the bravery of their
tinkling ornaments about their feet , and
their cauls, and their round tires like the
moon, 19. The chains, and the brace¬
lets, and the mufflers, 20. The bonnets,
and the ornaments of the legs, and the
head-bands, and the tablets, and the ear¬
rings, 21. The rings, and nose-jewels, 22.
The changeable suits of apparel, and the
mantles, and the wimples, and the crisping-
pins, 23. The glasses, and the fine linen,
and the hoods, and the vails. 24. And it
shall come to pass, that instead of sweet
smell, there shall be stink ; and instead of a
girdle, a rent ; and instead of well-set hair,
baldness; and instead of a stomacher, a
girding of sackcloth! and burning instead of
beauty. 25. Thy men shall fall by the
sword, and thy mighty in the war. 26.
And her gates shall lament and mourn :
and she, being desolate, shall sit upon the
ground.
The prophet’s business was to show all sorts of
people what they had contributed to the national
guilt, and what share they must expect in the na¬
tional judgments that were coming; here he re¬
proves and warns the daughters of Zicn, tells the
ladies of their faults; and Moses, in the law, having
denounced God’s wrath against the tender and deli¬
cate woman, (the prophets being a comment upon
the law, Dent, xxviii. 56.) he here tells them how
they should sm: • rt by the calamities that were coming
upon them. Observe,
1. The sin charged upon the daughters of Zion,
v. 16. The prophet expressly vouches God’s au¬
thority for what he said, lest it should be thought
it was unbecoming him to take notice of such things,
and should be ill-resented by the ladies; The Lord
saith it. Whether they will hear, or whether they
will forbear, let them know that God takes notice
of, and is much displeased with, the folly and vanity
of proud we men, and his law takes cognizance
ISAIAH, III.
SI
even of their dress. T wo things they here stand
nciicted for, haughtiness and wantonness; directly
contrary to that modesty, shamefacedness, and so¬
briety, with which women ought to adorn them¬
selves, 1. Tim. ii. 9. They discovered the disposi¬
tion of their mind by their gait and gesture, and the
lightness of their carriage. They are haughty, for
they walked with stretched-forth necks, that they may
seem tall, or, as thinking nobody good enough to
speak to them, or, to receive a look ora smile;
their eyes are wanton; receiving, so the word is;
with their amorous glances thev draw men into
their snares; they affect a formal starched way of
going, that people may look at them, and admire
them, and know they have been at the dancing-
school, and have learned the minuet-step; they go
mincing, or nicely tripping, not willing to set so
much as the sole of their foot to the ground, for
tenderness and delicacy; they make a tinklingwith
their feet, having, as some think, chains, or little
bells, upon their shoes, that made a noise; they go
as if they were fettered; so some read it; like a horse
trammelled, that he may learn to pace. Thus
Agag came delicately, 1 Sam. xv. 32. Such a nice
affected mien is not only a force upon that which is
natural, and ridiculous before men, men of sens ;
but as it is an evidence of a vain mind, it is offensive
to God. And two things aggravated it here, (1.)
That these were the daughters of Zion the holy
mountain, who should have behaved with the gravity
that becomes women professing godliness. (2.)
That it should seem, by the connexion, they were
the wives and daughters of the princes who spoil¬
ed and oppressed the poor, ( v . 14, 15.) that they
might maintain this pride and luxury of their fa¬
milies.
2. The punishments threatened for this sin; and
they answer the sin, as face answers to face in a
glass, x'. 17, 18.
(1.) They walked with stretched-forth necks, but
God will smite with a scab the crown of their head,
which shall lower their crests, and make them
ashamed to show their heads, being obliged by it to
cut off their hair. Note, Loathsome diseases are
often sent as the just punishment of pride, and are
sometimes the immediate effect of lewdness, the
flesh and the body being consumed by it.
(2.) They cared not what they laid out in fur¬
nishing themselves with great variety of fine clothes;
but God will reduce them to such poverty and dis¬
tress, that they should not have clothes sufficient to
cover their nakedness, but their uncomeliness should
be exposed through their rags.
(3. ) They were extremely fond and proud of their
ornaments; but God will strip them of those orna¬
ments, when their houses should be plundered,
their treasures rifled, and they themselves led into
captivity. The prophet here specifies many of the
ornaments which they used, as particularly as if he
had been the keeper of their wardrobe, or had at¬
tended them in their dressing-room. It is not at
all material to inquire what sort of ornaments these
respectively were, and whether the translations
rightly express the original words; perhaps a hun¬
dred years hence the names of some of the orna¬
ments that are now in use in our land will be as lit¬
tle understood as some of those here are. Fashions
alter, and so do the names of them ; and yet the 1
mention of them is not in vain, but is designed to
expose the folly of the daughters of Zion; for, (1.)
Many of these things, we may suppose, were very
odd and ridiculous, and if they had not been in
fashion, would have been hooted at. They were
fitter to be toys for children to play with, than oma-
nv-nts for grown people to go to mount Zion in.
(2.) Those things that were decent and convenient,
as the linen, hoods, and the veils, needed not to
have been provided in such abundance and va¬
riety. It is necessary to have apparel, and that
all should have it according to their rank; be* what
occasion was there for so many changeable suits
: of apparel, (x>. 22.) that they might not be seen
two days together in the same suit? “They must
have (as the homily against excess of apparel
speaks) one gown for the day, another for the
night; one long, another short; one for the working-
day, another for the holy-day; ancther of this co¬
lour, another of that colour; one of cloth, another
of silk or damask; one dress afore dinner, another
after; one of the Spanish fashion, another Turkey,
and never content with sufficient.” Which, as it is
an evidence of pride and vain curiosity, so must
needs spend a great deal, in gratifying a base lust,
that ought to be laid out in works of piety and cha¬
rity; and it is well if poor tenants be not racked, or
poor creditors defrauded, to support it. (3.) The
enumeration of these things intimates what care
they were in about them, how much their hearts
were upon them, what an exact account they kept
of them, how nice and critical they were about
them, how insatiable their desire was of them,
and how much of their comfort was bound up in
them. A maid could forget none of these orna¬
ments, though they were ever so many, (Jer. ii.
32.) but would report them as readily, and talk of
them with as much pleasure, as if they had been
things of the greatest moment. The prophet does
not speak of these things as in themselves sinful;
they may lawfully be had and used, but as things
which they were proud of, and should therefore be
deprived of.
4. They were verv nice and curious about their
clothes; but God would make those bodies of theirs
which they were at such expense to beautify and
make easy, a reproach and burthen to them; (x'.
24. ) Instead of sweet smell (those tablets, or boxes
of perfume, houses of the soul or breath, as they are
called, x>. 20. margin) there shall be stink, garments
grown filthy, with being long worn, or from some
loathsome disease, or plasters for the cure of it; in¬
stead of a rich embroidered girdle, used to make the
clothes sit tight, there shall be a rent, a rending of
the clothes for grief, or old rotten clothes rent into
rags; instead of well-set hair, curiously plaited and
powdered, there shall be baldness, the hair being
plucked off or shaven, as was usual in times of great
affliction, ( ch . xv. 2. Jer. xvi. 6.) or in great servi¬
tude, Ezek. xxix. 18. Instead of a stomacher, or a
scarf, or sash, a girding of sackcloth, in token of
deep humiliation; and burning instead of beauty.
Those that had a good complexion, and were proud
of it, when they are carried into captivitv, shall be
tanned and sun-burnt; and it is observed, that the
best faces are soonest injured by the weather. F rom
all this let us learn, (1.) Not to be nice and curious
about our apparel, nor to affect that which is gay
and costly, or to be proud of it. (2.) Not to be se¬
cure in the enjoyment of any of the delights of sense,
because we know not how soon we may be stripped
of them, nor what straits we may be reduced to.
5. They designed by these ornaments to charm
the gentlemen, and win their affections, (Prov. vii.
16, 1~. ) but th' re shall be none to be cnarmed by
them; (xe 25.) Thy men shall fall by the sword,
and thy mighty in the war. The fire shall consume
them , and then the maidens shall not be given in
marriage; as it is, Ps. lxxviii. 63. When the sword
comes with commission, the mighty commonly fall
first by it, because they are most forward to ven¬
ture. And when Zion’s guards are cut off, no mar¬
vel that Zion’s gates lament and mourn, (x>. 26.) the
enemies having made themselves masters of them,
and the city itself, being desolate, being emptied or
swept, shall sit upon the ground, like a disconsolate
32
ISAIAH, IV.
widow. If sin be harboured within the walls, la¬
mentation and mourning are near her gates.
CHAP. IV.
In this chapter, we have, 1. A threatening or the paucity
and scarceness of men, (v. I.) which might fitly enough
have been added to the close of the foregoing chapter, to
which it has a plain reference. 11. A promise of the res¬
toration of Jerusalem’s peace and purity, righteousness
and safety, in the days of the Messiah, v. 2. . 6. Thus,
in wrath,' mercy is remembered, and gospel grace is a
sovereign relief, in reference to the terrors of the law,
and the desolations made by sin.
1. A ND in that day seven women shall
j\_ take hold of one man, saying, We
will eat our own bread, and wear our own
apparel : only let us be called by thy name,
to take away our reproach.
It was threatened (ch. iii. 25.) that the mighty
men should fall by the sword in war; and it was
threatened as a punishment to the women that af¬
fected gaiety, and a loose sort of conversation. Now
here we have the effect and consequence of that
great slaughter of men;
1. That, though Providence has so wisely ordered
that, communibus annis — on an ax’erage of years,
there is nearly an equal number of males and fe¬
males born info the world, vet through the devasta¬
tions made by war, there should scarcely be one
man in seven left alive. As there are deaths at¬
tending the bringing forth of children, which are
peculiar to the woman, who was first in the trans¬
gression, so, to balance that, there are deaths pecu¬
liar to men; those by the sword in the high places
of the field, which perhaps devour more than child¬
bed does. Here it is foretold, that such multitudes
of men should be cut off, that there should be seven
women to one man.
2. That, by reason of the scarcity of men, though
marriage should be kept up, for the raising of re¬
cruits, and the preserving of the race of mankind
upon earth, yet the usual method of it should be
quite altered; that whereas men ordinarily, make
their court to the women, the women should now
take hold of the men, foolishly fearing (as Lot’s
daughters did, when they saw the ruin of Sodom,
and perhaps thought it reached further than it did)
that in a little time there would be none left; (Gen.
xix. 31.) and that, whereas women naturally hate
to come in sharers with others, seven should now, by
consent, become the wives of one man; and that,
whereas, by the law, the husband was obliged to
provide food and raiment for his wife, (Exod. xxi.
10.) which with many would be the most powerful
argument against multiplying wives, these women
will be bound to find themselves, they will eat bread
of their own earning, and wear apparel of their
oxen working; and the man they court shall be at no
expense with them, onlv they desire to be called his
wives, to take away the reproach of a single life.
Thev are willing to be wives upon any terms, though
ever so unreasonable; and perhaps the rather, be¬
cause in these troublesome times it would be a kind¬
ness to them to have a husband for their protector.
St. Paul, on the contrary, in the time of distress,
thinks the single state preferable, 1 Cor. vii. 26. It
were well if this were not introduced here partly as
a reflection upon the daughters of Zion, that, not¬
withstanding the humbling providences they were
under, (eh. iii. 18.) they remained unhumbled, and,
instead of repenting of their pride and vanity, when
God was contending with them for it, all their
rare was to get them nusbands — that modesty,
which is the greatest beauty of the fair sex, was for¬
gotten, and with them the reproach of vice was no¬
thing to the reproach of virginity ; a sad symptom of
the irrecoverable desolations of virtue.
2. In that day shall the Branch of the
Lord be beautiful and glorious, and the
fruit of the earth shall be excellent and
comely for them that are escaped of Israel
3. And it shall come to pass, that he that is
left in Zion, and he that remaineth in Jeru¬
salem, shall be called holy, even every one
that is written among the living in Jerusa¬
lem: 4. When the Lord shall have wash¬
ed away the filth of the daughters of Zion,
and shall have purged the blood of Jerusa
lem from the midst thereof, by the spirit o)
judgment, and by the spirit of burning. .6
, And the Lord will create upon eveiy dwel
ling-place of mount Zion, and upon her as
semblies, a cloud and smoke by day, and the
shining of a flaming fire by night : for upon all
the glory shall be a defence. 6. And there
shall be a tabernacle for a shadow in the day¬
time from the heat, and for a place of refuge,
and for a covert from storm and from rain.
Bv the foregoing threatenings, Jerusalem is
brought into a very deplorable condition; eveiy
thing looks melancholy: but here the sun breaks out
from behind the cloud; many exceeding great and
precious promises we have in these verses, giving
assurance of comfort which may be discerned
through the troubles, and cf happy days which
shall come after them. And these certainly point
at the kingdom of the Messiah, and the great re¬
demption to be wrought out by him, under the
figure and type of the restoration of Judah and Je¬
rusalem by the reforming reign of Hezekiah after
Ahaz, and the return out of their captivity in Baby¬
lon; to both which it may have some reference, but
chiefly to Christ.
It is here promised, as the issue of all these
troubles,
I. That God will raise up a righteous Branch,
which should produce fruits of righteousness; (v. 2.)
In that day, that, same day, at that very time, when
Jerusalem shall be destroyed, and the Jewish nation
extirpated and dispersed, the kingdom of the Mes¬
siah shall be set up; and then shall be the reviving
of the church, when every one shall fear the utter
ruin of it.
1. Christ himself shall be exalted; lie is the
! Branch of the Lord, the Man, the Branch: it is one
of his prophetical names, my Servant, the Branch,
(Zech. iii. 8. — vi. 12.) the Branch of righteousness,
(Jer. xxiii. 5. — xxxiii. 15.) a Branch out of the
stem of Jesse; ( ch . xi. 1.) and that, as some think,
is alluded to when he is called a JVazarene, Matth.
ii. 23. Here he is called the Branch of the Lord,
because planted by his power, and flourishing to his
praise. The ancient Chaldee Paraphrase here reads
ft, The Christ, or Messiah of the Lord. He shall
be the Beauty, and Glory, and Joy. (1.) He shall
himself be advanced to the joy set before him, and
the glory which lie had with the Father before ‘110
world was. He that was a Reproach of men, .. nd
whose visage was marred more than any man’s, is
now, in the upper world, beautiful and glorious, as
the sun in his strength, admired and adored by an¬
gels. (2. ) He shall be beautiful and glorious in tin-
esteem of all believers, shall gain an interest in th-
world, and a name among men, above every name.
To them that believe he is precious, he is an Hu
notir, (1 Pet. ii. 7.) the L'airest of ten thousand,
(Cant. v. 10.) and altogether glorious. Let us re
joice that he is so, and let him be so to us.
ISAlAH, IV. 3 1
2. His gospel shall be embraced. The gospel is
the fruit of the Branch of the Lord; all the graces
and comiorts i f the gospel spring from Christ. But
it is called the fruit of the earth, because it sprang
up in tins world, and was calculated for the present
state. And Christ compares himself to a corn of
•wheal, that falls into the ground, and dies, and so
brings forth much fruit, John xii. 24. The success
of the gospel is represented by the earth's yielding
her increase, (Ps. lxvii. 6.) and the planting of the
Christian church is God’s sowing it to himself in the
earth, Hos. ii. 23. We may understand it of both
the persons, and the things, that are the products
of the gospel; they shall be excellent and comely,
shall appear very agreeable, and be very acceptable
to them that are escaped of Israel, of that remnant
of the Jews, which was saved from perishing with
the rest in unbelief, Rom. xi. 5. Note, If Christ
be precious to us, his gospel will be so, and all its
truths and promises; his church will be so, and all
that belong to it. These are the good fruit of the
earth, in comparison with which, all other things
are but weeds. It will be a good evidence to us,
that we are of the chosen remnant, distinguished
from the rest that are called Israel, and marked for
salvation, if we are brought to see a transcendent
beauty in Christ and holiness, and the saints, the
excellent ones of the earth. As a type of this blessed
day, Jerusalem, after Sennacherib's invasion, and
after the captivity in Babylon, should again flourish
as a branch, and be blessed with the fruits of the
earth: compare ch. xxxvii. 31, 32. The remnant
shall again take root downward, and bear fruit up¬
ward . And if by the fruit of the earth here we un¬
derstand the good things of this life, we may ob¬
serve, that those have peculiar sweetness in them to
the chosen remnant, who, having a covenant-right
to them, have the most comfortable use of them.
If the Branch of the Lord be beautiful and glorious
in our eyes, even the fruit of the earth also will be
excellent and comely, because then we may take it
as the fruit of the promise, Ps. xxxvii. 16. 1 Tim.
iv. 8.
II. That God will reserve to himself a holy seed;
(x\ 3.) when the generality of those that have a
lace and a name in Zion, and in Jerusalem, shall
e cut off, as withered branches, by their own unbe¬
lief, yet some shall be left. Some shall remain,
some shall still cleave to the church, when its pro¬
perty is altered, and it is become Christian; for God
will not quite cast off his people, Rom. xi. 1. There
is here and there one that is left: now, 1. This is a
remnant according to the election of grace, (as the
apostle speaks, Itom. xi. 5.) such as are written
Among the living, marked in the counsel and fore¬
knowledge of God for life and salvation; written to
life, (so the word is,) designed and determined for
it unalterably; for What I have written, I have
written. Those that are kept alive in killing, dying
times, were written for life in the book of Divine
Providence: and shall we not suppose those who are
rescued from a greater death, to be such as were
written in the Lamb’s book of life? Rev. xiii. 8. As
many as were ordained unto eternal life, believed,
to the salvation of the soul. Acts xiii. 48. Note, All
that were written among the living, shall be found
among the living, every one; for of all that were
given to Christ, he shall lose none. 2. It is a rem¬
nant tinder the dominion of grace; for every one that
is written among the living, and is, accordingly,
left, shall be called holy, shall be holy, and shall be
accepted of God accordingly. Those only that are
holy, shall be left, when the Son of man shall gather
out of his kingdom every thing that offends : and all
that are chosen to salvation, are chosen to sanctifi¬
cation. See 2 Thess. ii. 13. Eph. i. 4.
III. That God will reform his church, and will
Vo D IV. — E
rectify and amend whatever (s i.miss in it, v.
Then the remnant shall be called holy, when the
Lord shall have washed away their filth, washed it
from among them by cutting off the wicked persons,
washed it from within them by purging cut the
wicked thing. They shall not be called so, till
they are in some measure made so. Gospel-times
are times of reformation, (Heb. ix. 10.) typified by
the reformation in the days of Hezekiah, and tluit
after the captivity, to which this promise refers.
Observe, 1. The places and persons to be reformed.
Jerusalem, though the holy city, needed reforma¬
tion: and, being the royal city, the reformation if
that would have a good influence upon the whole-
kingdom. The daughters of Zion also must be re¬
formed, the women in a particular manner, whom
he had reproved; ch. iii. 16. When they were
decked in, their ornaments, they thought themselves
wondrouselean; but, being proud of them, the pro¬
phet calls them theiryf ////, tor no sin is more abomi¬
nable to God than pride: or by the daughters <f
Zion may be meant the country, towns, and villages,
which were related to Jerusalem, asthe mother-city,
and which needed reformation. 2. The reforma¬
tion itself; the filth shall be washed away, for wick¬
edness is filthiness, particularly bloodshed, for
which Jerusalem was infamous, (2 Kings xxi. 16.)
and which defiles the land more than any other sin.
Note, The reforming of a city is the cleansing cf it;
when vicious customs and fashions are suppressed,
and the open practice of wickedness is restraint d,
the place is made clean and sweet, which before
was a dunghill; and this is not only for its credit and
reputation among strangers, but for the comfort and
health of the inhabitants themselves. 3. The Author
of the reformation; The Lord shall do it: reforma¬
tion-work is God’s work; if any thing be done to
purpose in it, it is his doing. But how ? By the judg¬
ment of his providence the sinners were destroyed
and consumed; but it is by the Spirit of his grace
that they are reformed and converted. This is
work that is done, not by might, or by power, but
by the Spirit of the Lord of hosts, (Zech. iv. 6. )
working both upon the sinners themselves that are
to be reformed, and upon magistrates, ministers,
and others that are to be employed as instruments
of reformation. The Spirit herein acts, (1.) Asa
Spirit of judgment, enlightening the mind, convin¬
cing the conscience, as a Spirit of wisdom, guiding
us to deal prudently, (Isa. Iii. 13.) as a discerning,
distinguishing Spirit, separating between the pre
cious and the vile. (2.) As a Spirit of burning,
quickening and invigorating the affections,- and
making men zealously affected in a good work. The
Spirit works as fire, Matth. iii. 11. An ardent love
to Christ and souls, and a flaming zeal against sin,
will carry men on with resolution in their endea¬
vours to turn away ungodliness from Jacob. See
Isa. xxxii. IS, 16.
IV. That God will protect bis church, and all
that belong to it: (u. 5, 6.) when they are purified
and reformed, they shall no longer lie exposed, but
God will take a particular care of them : they that
are sanctified are well fortified, for God will be to
them a Guide and a Guard.
1. Their tabernacles shall be defended, v. 5. (1.)
Their dwelling-places; the tabernacles of their rest,
their own houses, where they worship God, alone,
and with their families. That blessing which is
upon the habitation of the just, shall be a protection
to it, Prov. iii. 33. In the tabernacles of the righ
teous shall the voice of rejoicing and salvation be,
Ps. cxviii. 15. Note, God takes particular ccg
nizance and care of the dwelling-places of his peo¬
ple, of every one of them, the poorest cottage as
well as the stateliest palace. When iniquity fiui
far from the tabernacle, the Almighty shall be its
ISAIAH. V.
34
Defence, Job xxii. 23, 25. (2.) Their assemblies
or tabernacles of meeting for religious worship. No
■mention is made of the temple, for the promise
points at a time when not one stone of that shall be
left upon another; but all the congregations of Chris¬
tians, though but two or three meet together in
Christ’s name, shall be taken under the special pro¬
tection of Heaven; they shall no more be scattered,
no more disturbed, nor shall any weapon formed
against them prosper. Note, \Ve ought to reckon
it a great mercy, if we have liberty to worship God
in public, free from the alarms of the sword of war
or persecution.
Now this writ of protection is drawn up, [1.] In
a similitude taken from the safety of the camp of
Israel, w hen they marched through the wilderness.
God will give to the Christian church as real proofs,
though not so sensible of his care of them, ns he gave
to them then. The Lord will again create a cloud
and smoke by day, to screen them from the scorch¬
ing heat of the sun, and the shining of a flaming
fire by night, to enlighten and warm the air, which,
in the night, is cold and dark. See Exod. xiii. 21.
Neh. ix. 19. This pillar of cloud and fire interposed
between the Israelites and the Egyptians, Exod.
xiv. 20. Note, Though miracles are ceased, yet
God is the same to the Newr Testament church,
that he was to Israel of old; the very same yester¬
day, to-day, and for ever. [2.] In a similitude
taken from the outside cover of rams’ skins and
badgers’ skins, that was upon the curtains of the ta¬
bernacle, as if every dwelling-place of mount Zion
and every assembly were as dear to God as that ta¬
bernacle was; Upon all the glory shall be a defence,
to save it from wind and weather. Note, The
church on earth has its glory ; gospel-truths and or¬
dinances, the scriptures and the ministry, are the
church’s glory; and upon all this glory there is a de¬
fence, and ever shall be, for the gates of hell shall
not prex’ail against the church. If God himself be
the Glory in the midst of it, he will himself be a
Wall of fire round about it, impenetrable, and im¬
pregnable. Grace in the soul is the glory of it, and
those that have it, are kept by the power of God as
in a strong hold, 1 Pet. i. 5.
2. Their tabernacle shall be a defence to them,
v. 6. God’s tabernacle was a pavilion to the saints,
Ps. xxvii. 5. But when that is taken down, they
shall not wrant a covert: the divine power and good¬
ness shall be a tabernacle to all the saints, God him¬
self will be their Hiding-place, (Ps. xxxii. ".) they
shall be at home in him, Ps. xci. 9. He will him¬
self be to them as the shadow of a great rock, ( ch .
xxxii. 2.) and his name a strong tower, Prov. xviii.
10. He will be not only a Shadow from the heat in
the day-time, but a Covert from storm and rain.
Note, In this world we must expect change of
weather, and all the inconveniences that attend it;
we shall meet with storm and rain in this lower re¬
gion, and at other times the heat of the day, no less
burthensome : but God is a Refuge to his people, in
all weathers.
CHAP. V.
In this chapter, the prophet, in God’s name, shows the
people of God their transgressions, even the house of
Jacob their sins, and the judgments which were likely to
be brought upon them for their sins: I. By a parable,
under the similitude of an unfruitful vineyard, represent¬
ing the great favours God had bestowed upon them,
their disappointing of his expectations from them, ana
the ruin they had thereby deserved, v. 1 . . 7. II. By an
enumeration of the sins that did abound among them,
with a threatening of punishments that should answer to
the sins: 1. Covetousness, and greediness of worldly
wealth, which shall be punished with famine, v. S. . 10.
2. Rioting, revelling, and drunkenness, (v. 11, 12, 22.)
which shsHl be punished with captivitv and all the mise¬
ries that attend it, v. 13. . 17. 3. Presumption in sin,
and defying the justice of God, v. 18, 19. 4. Confound¬
ing the distinctions between virtue and vice, and so un¬
dermining the principles of religion, v. 20. 5. Self-
conceit, v. 21. 6. Perverting justice; for which, and the
other instances of reigning wickedness among them, a
great and general desolation is threatened, whicli should
lay all waste, (v. 24, 25.) and which should be effected
by a foreign invasion, (v. 26 . . 30.) referring perhaps to
the havoc made not tong after by Sennacherib’s army.
1. OW will I sing to my well-beloved
_L^ a song of my beloved touching his
vineyard. My well-beloved hath a vine¬
yard in a very fruitful hill; 2. And he fenced
it, and gathered out the stones thereof, and
planted it with the choicest vine, and built
a tower in the midst of it, and also made a
wine-press therein: and he looked that it
should bring forth grapes, and it brought
forth wild grapes. 3. And now, O inhabit¬
ants of Jerusalem, and men of Judah, judge,
I pray you, betwixt me and my vineyard.
4. W hat could have been done more to my
vineyard that I have not done in it? where¬
fore, when I looked that it should bring forth
grapes, brought it forth wild grapes ? 5. And
now, go to; I will tell you what I will do to
my vineyard : I will take, away the hedge
thereof, and it shall be eaten up; and break
down the wall thereof, and it shall be trod¬
den down : 6. And I will lay it waste : it
shall not be pruned nor digged ; but there
shall come up briers and thorns : I will also
command the clouds that they rain no rain
upon it. 7. For the vineyard of the Lord
of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men
of Judah liis pleasant plant: and he looked
for judgment, but behold oppression; for
! righteousness, but behold a cry.
See what variety of methods the great God takes
to awaken sinners to repentance, by convincing
them of sin, and showing them their misery and
danger, by reason of it: to this purport he speaks
sometimes in plain terms, and sometimes in para¬
bles, sometimes in prose, sometimes in verse, as
here; “ VVe have tried to reason with you, ( ch . i.
18.) now let us put your case into a poem, inscribed
to the honour ot my Well-beloved. ’ God the Fa¬
ther dictates it to the honour of Christ his well-be¬
loved Son, whom he has constituted Lord of the
vineyard. The prophet sings it to the honour of
Christ too, for he is his \\ ell-beloved. 1 he Old
Testament prophets were friends of the Bridegroom :
Christ is God’s beloved Son, and our beloved Sa¬
viour: whatever is said or sung of the church, must
be intended to his praise, even that which (like this)
tends to our shame. This parable is put into a song,
that it might be the more moving and affecting,
might be the more easily learned, and exactly re
membered, and the better transmitted to posterity;
and it is an exposition of the song of Moses, (Deut.
I xxxii.) showing, that what he then foretold, was
I now' fulfilled. Jerom says, Christ, the \\ ell-belov
| ed, did, in effect, sing this mournful song, when he
j beheld Jerusalem, and wept over it, (Lvike xix.
41.) and had reference to it in the parable ot the
vineyard; (Matth. xxi. 33.) only here the fault was
in the vines, there in the husbandmen. Here is,
I. The great things which Grd had done for the
i Jewish church and nation: when all the rest of the
35
ISAIAH, V.
world lay in common, not cultivated by divine reve¬
lation, tliat was his vineyard, they were his pecu¬
liar people; he owned them, set them apart for him¬
self; the soil they were planted in was extraordi¬
nary; it was a very fruitful hill, the horn of the son
of oil; so it is in the margin. There was plenty, a
cornucopia; and there was dainty, they did there
eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and so were fur¬
nished with abundance of good things to honour
God with in sacrifices and free-will-offerings. The
advantages of our situation wi 1 be brought into the
account another day. Observe further, what God
did for this vineyard: 1. He fenced it; took it under
his special protection, kept it night and day under
his own eye, lest any should hurt it, ch. xxvii. 2, 3.
If they had not themselves thrown down their fence,
no inroad could have been made upon them, Ps.
cx;xv. 2. — cxxi. 4. 2. He gathered the stones out
of it, that, as nothing from without might damage it,
so nothing within might obstruct its fruitfulness. He
proffered his grace to take away the stony heart.
3. He planted it with the choicest vine, set up a
pure religion among them, gave them a most excel¬
lent law, instituted ordinances very proper for the
keeping up of their acquaintance with God, Jer. ii.
21. 4. He built a tower in the midst of it, either
for defence against violence, or for the dressers of
the vineyard to lodge in; or rather, for the Owner
of the vineyard to sit in, to take a view of the vines,
(Cant. vii. 12.) a summer-house. The temple ivas
this tower, about which the priests lodged, and
where God promised to meet his people, and gave
them the tokens of his presence among them, and
pleasure in them. 5. He made a wine-press there¬
in, set up his altar, to which the sacrifices, as the
fruits of the vineyard, should be brought.
II. The disappointment of his just expectations
from them; He looked that it should bring forth
gra/ies, and a great deal of reason he had for that
expectation. Note, God expects vineyard-fruit
from those that enjoy vineyard-privileges; not leaves
only, as Mark xi. 13. A bare profession, though
ever so green, will not serve: there must be more
than buds and blossoms; good purposes and good be¬
ginnings are good things, but not enough, there must
be fruit; a good heart and a good life; vineyard-fruit;
thoughts and affections, words and actions, agreea¬
ble to the Spirit, which is the fatness of the vine¬
yard, (Gal. v. 22, 23. ) answerable to the ordinances,
which are the dressings of the vineyard, and ac¬
ceptable to God, the Lord of the vineyard, and fruit
according to the season. Such fruit as this God ex¬
pects from us, grapes, the fruit of the \ ine, with
which they honour God and man; (Judg. ix. 13.)
and his expectations are neither high nor hard, but
righteous and verv reasonable. Yet see how his
expectations are frustrated; it brought forth wild
grapes; not only no fruit at all, but bad fruit, worse
th in none; grapes of Sodom, Deut. xxxii. 32. 1.
Wild grapes are the fruits of the corrupt nature;
fruit according to the crab-stock, not according to
the engrafted branch; from the root of bitterness,
Heb. xii. 15. Where grace does not work, corrup¬
tion will. 2. Wild grapes are hypocritical per¬
formances in religion, that look like grapes, but are
sour or bitter; and are so far from being pleasing to
Gad, that they are provoking, as theirs, ch. i. 11.
Counterfeit graces are wild grapes.
III. An appeal to themselves, whether, upon the
wh le, God must not be justified, and they con¬
demned, v. iii. 4. And now the case is plainly
st it d, 0 inhabitants of Jerusalem, and men of Ju¬
dah, judye, I ftray you, betwixt me and my vine¬
yard. This implies that God was blamed about
ih m: there was a controversy between them and
nim; but the equity was so plain on his side, that
'ir could venture to put the decision of the contro-
| versy to their own consciences; “ Let any inhabi-
! tant of Jerusalem, any man of Judah, that has but
the use of his reason, and a common sense of equity
and justice, speak his mind impartially in this mat-
j ter. ” Here is a challenge to any man to show,
1. Any instance wherein God had been wanting
| to them; What could have been done more to my
I vineyard, that I have not done in it? He speaks ct
! the external means of fruitfulness, and such as might
■ be expected from the dresser of a vineyard, fre m
whom it is net required that he should change the
nature of the vine. What ought to have been done
more? (so it may be read. ) They had every' thing
requisite for instruction and direction in their duty,
for the quickening of them to it, and putting of them
in mind of it: no inducements were wanting to per¬
suade them to it, but all arguments were used, pre-
per to work either upon hope or fear; and they had
all the opportunities they could desire for the per¬
formance of their duty, the new-mcons, and the sab¬
baths, and solemn feasts; they had the scriptures,
the lively oracles, a standing ministry in the priests
and Levites, beside what was extraordinary in the
prophets. No nation had statutes and judgments
so nghteous.
2. Nor could any tolerable excuse be offered for
their walking thus contrary to God; “Wherefore,
what reason can be given why it should bring forth
wild grapes, when I looked for grapes?” Note, The
wickedness of those that profess religion, and enjoy
the means of grace, is the most unreasonable, unac¬
countable thing in the world, and the whole blame
of it must lie upon the sinners themselves; If thou
scomest, thou alone shalt bear it, and shalt not have
a word to say for thyself in the judgment of the
great day. God will prove his own ways equal, and
the sinner’s ways unequal.
IV. Their doom read, and a righteous sentence
passed upon them for their bad conduct toward God;
(v. 5, 6.) “ And now go to; since nothing can be of¬
fered in excuse of the crime, or arrest of the judg¬
ment, I will tell you what I am now determined to
do to my v ineyard; I will be vexed and troubled
with it no more; since it will be good for nothing,
it shall be good for nothing; in short, it shall cease
to be a vineyard, and be turned into a wilderness;
the church of the Jews shall be unchurched, their
charter shall be taken away, and they shall become
lo-ammi — not my people. ” 1. “ They shall no
longer be distinguished as a peculiar people, but be
laid in common; I will take away the hedge thereof,
and then it will soon be eaten up, and become as
bare as other ground.” They mingled themselves
with the nations, and therefore were justly scattered
among them. They shall no longer be protected as
God’s people, but left exposed. God will not onlv
suffer the wall to go to decay, but he will break it
down, will remove all their defences from them;
and then they become an easy prey to their ene¬
mies, who had long waited for an opportunity to do
them a mischief, and will now tread them down,
and trample upon them. 3. They shall no longer
have the face of a vineyard, the form and shape of
a church and commonwealth, but shall be levelled
and laid waste. This was fulfilled when Jerusalem
for their sakes was ploughed as a field, Mic. iii. 12
4. No more pains shall be taken with them by ma
gistrates or ministers, the dressers and keepers cf
their vineyard; it shall not be pruned ordigged, but
every thing shall run wild, and nothing shall come
up but briers and thorns, the products of sin and
the curse, Gen. iii. 18. When errors and corrup¬
tions, race and immorality, go without check or con¬
trol, no testimony borne against them, no rebuke
given them, or restraint put upon them, the vine
vard is unpruned, is not dressed or ridded; and ther
it will soon be like the vineyard of the man void ' i
36
ISAIAH, V.
understanding, all grown over with thorns. 5. That
which completes its wo, is, that the dews of heaven
shall be withheld; he that has the key of the clouds,
will command them that they rain no rain upon it;
and that alone is sufficient to turn it into a desert.
Note, God, in a way of righteous judgment, denies
his grace to those that have long received it in vain.
The sum of all is, that they who would not bring
forth good fruit, should bring forth none. The curse
of barrenness is the punishment of the sin of barren¬
ness; as Mark xi. 14. This had its accomplishment,
in part, in the destruction of Jerusalem by the Chal¬
deans, its full accomplishment in the final rejection
of the Jews, and has its frequent accomplishment in
the departure of God’s Spirit from those persons
who have long resisted him, and striven against
him, and the removal rjf his gospel from those places
that have been long a reproach to it, while it has
been an honour to them. It is no loss to God to lay
his vineyard waste; for he can, when he pleases,
turn a wilderness into a fruitful field; and when he
does thus dismantle a vineyard, it is but as he did
by the garden of Eden, which, when man had by
sin forfeited his place in, was soon levelled with
common soil.
V. The explanation of this parable, or a key to
it, (n. 7.) where we are told, 1. What is meant by
the vineyard; it is the house of Israel, the body of
the people, incorporated in one church and com¬
monwealth; and what by the vines, the pleasant
plants, the plants of God’s pleasure, which he had
been pleased in, and delighted in doing good to;
they are the men of Judah; these he had dealt gra¬
ciously with, and from them he expected suitable
returns. 2. What is meant by the grapes that were
expected, and the wild grapes that were produced;
he looked for judgment and righteousness, that the
people should be honest in ail their dealings, and
the magistrates should strictly administer justice;
this might reasonably be expected among a people
that had such excellent laws and rules of justice
given them ; (Deut. iv. 8. ) but it was quite other¬
wise; instead of judgment there was the cruelty of
the oppressors, and instead of righteousness the cry
of the oppressed; every thing was carried by cla¬
mour and noise, and not by equity, and according
to the merits of the cause. It is sad with a people,
when wickedness has usurped the place of judg--
inent, Eccl. iii. 16. It is very sad with a soul, when,
instead of the grapes of humility, meekness, pa¬
tience, love, and contempt of the world, which God
looks for, there are the wild grapes of pride, pas¬
sion, discontent, malice, and contempt of God; in¬
stead of the grapes of praying and praising, the
wild grapes of cursing and swearing, which are a
great offence to God. Some of the ancients apply
this to the Jews in Christ’s time, among whom Gocl
looked for righteousness, that they should have re¬
ceived and embraced Christ, but behold, a cry, that
cry, Crucify him, crucify him.
8. Wo unto them that join house to
house, that lay field to field, till there he no
place, that they may be placed alone in the
midst of the earth ! 9. In mine ears, said
die Lord of hosts, Of a truth, many houses
shall be desolate, even great and fair, with¬
out inhabitant. 10. Yea, ten acres of vine¬
yard shall yield one bath, and the seed of a
homer shall yield an ephah. 11. Wo unto
them that rise up early in the morning, that
i hey may follow strong drink; that continue
until night,//// wine inflame them! 12. And
the haip and the viol, the tabret and pipe,
and wine, are in their feasts: but they re¬
gard not the work of the Lord, neither con¬
sider the operation of his hands. 13. There¬
fore my people are gone into captivity,
because they have no knowledge; and then-
honourable men are famished, and then-
multitude dried up with thirst. 14. There¬
fore hell hath enlarged herself, and opened
her mouth without measure: and their glory
and their multitude, and their pomp, and he
that rejoiceth, shall descend into it. 15
And the mean man shall be brought down,
and the mighty man shall be humbled, and
the eyes of the lofty shall be humbled: 16.
But the Lord of hosts shall be exalted in
judgment, and God, that is holy, shall be
sanctified in righteousness. 1 7. Then shall
the lambs feed after their manner, and the
waste places of the fat ones shall stranger?
eat.
The world and the flesh are the two great ene¬
mies that we are in danger of being oveipowered
by; yet we are in no danger, if we do not ourselves
yiulti to them. Eagerness of the world, and indul¬
gence of the flesh, are the two sins against which
the prophet in God’s name, here denounces woes;
these sins abounded then among the men of Judah,
and were some of the wild grapes they brought
forth, ( v . 4. ) for which God threatens to bring ruin
upon them; they are sins which we have all need
to stand upon our guard against, and dread the con¬
sequences of.
I. Here is a wo to those who set their hearts
upon the wealth of the world, and place their hap¬
piness in that, and increase it to themselves by indi
rect and unlawful means, (y. 8. ) who join house to
house, and lay field to field, till there be no place .
no room for any body to live by them; could they
succeed, they would be placed alone in the midst ci
the earth, would monopolize possessions and pre¬
ferments, and engross all profits and employments
to themselves. Not that it is a sin for those who
have a house and a field, if they have wherewithal
to purchase another; but their fault is, 1. That they
are inordinate in their desires to enrich themselves,
and make it their whole care and business to raise
an estate; as if they had nothing to mind, nothing to
seek, nothing to do, in this world, but that. They
never know v-hen they have enough, but the mi re
they have, the more they would have; and, like the
daughters of the horseleech, they cry, Give, give;
they cannot enjoy what they have, nor do good with
it, being so intent on contriving and studying to
make it more. They must have variety of houses,
a winter-house, and a summer-house; and if am then
man’s house, oj- field, lie convenient to theirs, os
Naboth’s vineyard to Ahab’s, they must have that
too, or they cannot be easy. Their fault is, 2. That
they are herein careless of others, nay, and injurious
to them; they would live so as to let nobody live but
themselves; so that their insatiable covetings be
gratified, they matter not what becomes of all about
them : what encroachments they make upon their
neighbour’s rights, what hardships they put upon
those that they have power over, or advantage
against, or what base and wicked arts they use to
heap up treasure to themselves. They would swell
so big as to fill all space, and yet are still unsatisfied,
| Eccl. v. 10. As Alexander, who, when he fancied
j he had conquered the world, wept because hr- had
net another world to conquer: Deficiente terra, non
37
1SA1 1
imfilctur avaritia — If the whole earth were mono¬
polized, avarice would thirst for more. What, will
you be placed alone in the midst of the earth? (so
some read it.) Will you be so foolish as to desire
it, when we have so much need of the service of
others, and so much comfort in their society? Will
you be so foolish as to expect that the earth should
be forsaken for us, (Job xviii. 4.) when it is by mul¬
titudes that the earth is to be replenished? An prop¬
ter vos solos tanta terra creata est ? — Was the wide
world created merely for you? Lyra.
Now that which is threatened, as the punishment
of this sin, is, th.it neither the houses nor the fields
they were thus greedy of, should turn to any ac¬
count, v. 9, 10. God whispered it to the prophet
in his ear, as he speaks in a like case; (c/i. xxii. 14.)
It was revealed in mine ears by the Lord of hosts;
(as God told Samuel a thing in his ear, 1 Sam. ix.
15.) he thought he heard it still sounding in his ears;
but he proclaims it as he ought to do, upon the house¬
tops, Matth. x. 27. (1.) That the houses they were
so fond of, should be untenanted, should stand long
empty, and so should yield them no rent, and go out
of repair: Many houses shall be desolate, the people
that should dwell in them being cut off by sword,
famine, or pestilence, or carried into captivity; or,
trade being dead, and poverty coming upon the
country like an armed man, those that had been
house-keepers, were forced to become lodgers, or
shift for themselves elsewhere. Even great and fair
houses, that would invite tenants, and (there being
a scarcity of tenants) might be taken at low rates,
shall stand empty without inhabitants. God creat¬
ed not the earth in vain: he formed it to be inhabit¬
ed, ch. xlv. 18. But men’s projects are often frus¬
trated, and what they frame, answers not the in¬
tention. We have a saying, That fools build houses
for wise men to live in; but sometimes it proves
for no man to live in. God has many ways to empty
the most populous cities. (2. ) That the fields they
were so fond of should be unfruitful ; (y. 10. ) Ten
acres of vineyard shall yield only such a quantity
of grapes as will m ike but one bath of wine, which
was about eight gallons; and the seed of an homer,
a bushel’s sowing of ground, shall yield but an
eplvth, which was the tenth part of an homer; so
that, through the barrenness of the ground, or the
unseasonableness of the weather, they should not
have more than a tenth part of their seed again.
Note, Those that set their hearts upon the world,
will justly be disappointed in their expectations
from it.
II. Here is a wo to those that doat upon the plea¬
sures and delights of sense, v. 11, 12. Sensuality
ruins men as certainly as worldliness and oppres¬
sion. As Christ pronounced a wo against those that
are rich, so also against those that laugh now, and
are full, (Luke vi. 24, 25.) and fare sumptuously,
Luke xvi. 19.
Obseri e, 1. Who the sinners are against whom
this wo is denounced; (1.) They are such as are
given to drink, they make it their business, have
their hearts upon it, and overcharge themselves
with it. They rise early to follow strong drink, as
husbandmen and tradesmen do to follow their em¬
ployments; as if they were afraid of losing time
from that which is the greatest mispendingof time.
Whereas commonly they that are drunken, are
drunken in the night, when they have despatched
the day, these neglect business, abandon it, and give
up themselves to the service of the flesh; for they
sit at their cups all day, and continue till night, till
wine inflame them — inflame their lusts; chambering [
and wantonness follow upon rioting and drunkenness
— inflame their passions; for who but such have
contentions and wounds without cause? Prov. xxiii.
29 — 33. They make a perfect trade of drinking; ,
\H, V.
nor do they seek the shelter of the night for this
work of darkness, as men ashamed of it, but count
it a /ileasure to riot in the clay-timc. See 2 Pet. ii.
13. (2.) They are such as are given to mirth; they
have their feasts, and they are so merrily disprsed,
that they cannot dine or sup without music, musical
instruments of all sorts, like David, (Amos vi. 5.)
like Solomon; (Eccl. ii. 8.) the harp and the viol,
the tabret and pipe, must accompany the wine, that
every sense may be gratified to a nicety: they take
the timbrel and harp. Job xxi. 12. The use (if mu¬
sic is lawful in itself; but when it is excessive, when
we set our hearts upon it, mispend time in it, so
that it crowds our spiritual and divine pleasures,
and draws away the heart from God, then it turns
into sin to us. (3.) They are such as never give
their mind to anv thing that is serious; they regard
not the work of the Lord, they observe' not his
power, wisdom, and goodness, in those creatures
which they abuse, and subject to vanity, nor the
bounty of his providence, in giving them those good
things which they make the food and fuel of their
lusts. God’s judgments have already seized them,
and they are under the tokens of his displeasure, but
they regard not, they consider not the hand cf God
in all these things; his hand is lifted up, but they
will not see, because they will not disturb them¬
selves in their pleasures, nor think what God is do¬
ing with them.
2. What the judgments are, which are denounc¬
ed against them, and in part executed. It is here
foretold,
(1.) That they should be dislodged; the land
should spue out these drunkards; (v. 13.) My peo¬
ple (so they called themselves, and were proud of
it) are therefore gone into captivity, are as sure p
go, as if they were gone already, because they have
no knowledge; how should they have knowledge,
when by their excessive drinking they make sots
and fools of themselves? They set up for wits, but,
because they regard not God’s controversy with
them, nor take any care to make their peace with
him, they may tnilv be said to have no knowledge;
and the reason is, because they will have none; they
are inconsiderate and wilful, and therefore destroyed
for lack of knowledge.
(2.) That they should be impoverished, and come
to want that which they had wasted and abused to
excess; Even their glory are men of famine, subject
to it, and slain by it; and their multitude are dried
up with thirst: both the great men and the common
people are ready to perish for want of bread and
water; this is the effect of the failure of the com,
(v. 10.) for the king himself is served of the field,
Eccl. v. 9. And when the vintage fails, the dnmk
ards are called upon to weep, because the new wim
is cut off from their mouth, (Joel i. 5.) and not so
much because now they want it, as because, when
they had it, they abused it. It is just with God to
make men want that for necessity, which they have
abused to excess.
(3.) That multitudes should be cut off by famim
and sword; (v. 14.) Therefore hell has enlarged
herself; Tophet, the common burving-place, proves
too little; so many are there to be buried, that thev
shall be forced to enlarge it: the grave has opened
her mouth without measure, never saying, It it
enough, Prov. xxx. 15, 16. It may be understood
of the place of the damned; luxury and sensuality
fill those regions of darkness and horror; there they
are tormented, who made a god of their belly, Luke
xvi. 25. Phil. iii. 19.
(4.) That they should be humbled and abased,
and all their honours laid in the dust. This will be
done effectually by death and the grave; Their glory
shall descend, not only to the earth, but into it; it
shall not descend after them, (Ps. xlix. 17.) to stano
33
ISAIAH, V.
diem in any stead on the other side death, but it
shall die and he buried with them; poor glory,
which will thus wither! Did they glory in their
numbers? Their multitude shall go down to the pit,
Ezek. xxxi. 18. — xxxii. 32. Did they glory in the
figure they made? Their pomp shall be at an end;
their shouts with which they triumphed, and were
attended. Did they glory in their mirth? Death will
turn it into mounting; he that rejoices and revels,
and never knows what it is to be serious, shall go
thither where there is weeping and wailing. Thus
the mean man and the mighty man meet together
in the grave, and under mortifying judgments. Let
a man be ever so high, death will bring him low,
ever so mean, death will bring him lower; in the
prospect of winch, the eyes of the lofty should now
be humbled, v. 15. It becomes those to look low,
that must shortly be laid low.
3. What the fruit of these judgments shall be.
(1.) God shall be glorified, v. 16. He that is the
Lord of hosts, and the holy God, sh ill be exalted
and sanctified in the judgment and righteousness of
these dispensations. His justice must be owned, in
bringing those low that exalted themselves; and
herein he is glorified; [1.] As a God of irresistible
power: he will herein be exalted as the Lord of
hosts, that is able to break the strongest, humble
the proudest, and tame the most unruly. Power is
not exalted but in judgment. It is the honour of
God, that, though he has a mighty arm, yet judg¬
ment and justice are always the habitation of his
throne , Ps. lxxxix. 13, 14. [2.] As a God of un¬
spotted purity; he that is holy, infinitely holy, shall
be sanctified, shall be owned and declared to be so
in the righteous punishment of proud men. Note,
When proud men are humbled, the great God is
honoured, and ought to be honoured by us.
(2.) Good people shall be relieved and succoured;
(v. 17.) Then shall the lambs feed after their man¬
ner; the meek ones of the earth, who follow the
Lamb, who were persecuted, and put into fear by
those proud oppressors, shall feed quietly, feed in
the green pastures, and there shall be none to make
them afraid. See Ezek. xxxiv. 14. When the ene¬
mies of the church are cut off, then have the church¬
es rest; they shall feed at their pleasure; so some
read it. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit
the earth, and delight themselves in abundant peace.
They shall feed according to their order or capacity ;
so others reads it; as they are able to hear the word,
that bread of life.
(3.) The country shall be laid waste, and be¬
come a prey to the neighbours; the waste places
of the fat ones, the possessions of those inch men
that lived at their ease, those shall be eaten by
strangers that were nothing akin to them. In the
captivity, the poor of the land were left for vine¬
dressers and husbandmen; (2 Kings xxv. 12.) those
were the lambs, that feed in the pastures of the fat
ones, which were laid in common for strangers to
eat. When the church of the Jews, those fat ones,
was laid waste, their privileges were transferred to
the Gentiles, who had been long strangers; and the
lambs of Christ’s flock were welcome to them.
18. Wo unto them that draw iniquity
with cords of vanity, and sin as it were with
a cart-rope ! 1 9. That say, Let him make
speed, anti hasten his work, that we may
see it : and let the counsel of the Holy One
of Israel draw nigh and come, that we may
know it! 20. Wo unto them that call evil
good, and good evil; that put darkness for
ligot, and light for darkness; that put bitter
for sweet, and sweet for hitter! 21. Wo |
unto them that are wise in their own eyes,
and prudent in their own sight ! 22. Wo
unto them that are mighty to drink wine, and
men of strength to mingle strong drink : 23.
M Inch justify the wicked for reward, and
fake away the righteousness of the righteous
from him ! 24. Therefore as the fire devour¬
ed) the stubble, and the flame consumeth the
chaff, so their root shall be as rottenness, and
their blossom shall go up as dust: because
they have cast away the law of the Loud of
hosts, and despised the word of the HolyOne
of Israel. 25. Therefore is the anger of the
Lord kindled against his people, and he
hath stretched forth his hand against them,
and hath smitten them : and the hills did
tremble, and their carcases were torn in the
midst of the streets. For all this his anger
is not turned away, but his hand is stretched
out still. 26. And he will lift up an ensign
to the nations from far, and will hiss unto
them from the end of the earth: and, behold,
they shall come with speed swiftly. 27.
None shall be weary nor stumble among
them; none shall slumber nor sleep; neither
shall the girdle of their loins be loosed, nor
the latehet of their shoes be broken: 23.
W hose arrows are sharp, and all their bows
bent, their horses’ hoofs shall be counted
like flint, and their wheels like a whirlwind:
29. Their roaring shall be like a lion, they
shall roar like young lions; yea, they shall
roar, and lay hold of the prey, and shall
carry it away safe, and none shall deliver it
30. And in that day they shall roar against
them like the roaring of the sea; and if one
look unto the land, behold darkness and sor¬
row ; and the light is darkened in the hea
vens thereof.
Here are,
I. Sins described, which will bring judgments
upon a people; and this perhaps is not onlv a charge
drawn up against the men of Judah', who lived at
that time, and the particular articles of that charge,
though it may relate primarily to them; but it is ra¬
ther intended for warning to ail people, in all ages, to
take heed to these sins, as destructive both to par¬
ticular persons and to communities, and exposing
men to God’s wrath and his righteous judgments.
Those that are here said to be in a woful condi
tion,
1. Who are eagerly set upon sin, and violent in
their sinful pursuits; (r. 18.) who draw iniquity
with cords of vanity, who take as much pains to
sin, as the cattle do, that draw in a team; who put
themselves to the stretch for the gratifying of theit
inordinate appetites, and to humour a base lust, of
fer violence to nature itself. They think themselves
as sure of compassing their wicked projects, as if
they were pulling it to them with strong cart-ropes:
but they will find themselves disappointed, for thev
will prove cords of vanity, which will break when
they come to any stress; for the righteous I.ord wi/i
cut in sunder the cords of the wicked, Ps. cxxix. 4.
Job iv. 8. Prow xxii. 8. They are bv long custom
ISAIAH, Vr.
30
ami confirmed habits, so hardened in sin, that they
cannot get clear of it: those that sin through infir¬
mity, are drawn away by sin; those that sin pre¬
sumptuously, draw it to them, in spite of the oppo¬
sitions of Providence and the checks of conscience.
Some by sin understand the punishment of sin; they
■■'ull God’s judgments upon their own heads, as it
were with cart-ropes.
2. Who set the justice of God at defiance, and
challenge the Almighty to do his worst; (x>. 19.)
They say, Let him make speed, and hasten his work;
this is the same language with that of the scoffers
of the last days, who say. Where is the promise of
his coining? And therefore it is, that, like them,
the)' draw iniquity with cords of vanity, are violent
and daring in sin, and walk after their own lusts, 2
Pet. iii. 1, 3, 4. (1.) They ridicule the prophets,
and banter them; it is in scorn that they call God
the Holy One of Israel, because the prophets used
with great veneration to call him so. (2. ) They will
not believe the revelation of God’s wrath from hea¬
ven against their ungodliness and unrighteousness;
unless they see it executed, they will not know it,
as if the curse were brutum fulmen — a mere flash,
and all the threatenings of the word bugbears to
frighten fools and children. (3. ) If God should ap¬
pear against them, as he has threatened, yet they
think themselves able to make their part good with
him, and provoke him to jealousy, as if they were
stronger than he, 1 Cor. x. 22. “We have heard
his word, but it is all talk; let him hasten his work,
we shall shift for ourselves well enough.” Note,
Those that wilfully persist in sin, consider not the
power of God’s anger.
3. Who confound and overthrow the distinctions
between moral good and evil, who call evil good,
and good evil, (x>. 20.) who not only live in the
omission of that which is good, but condemn it, ar¬
gue against it, and, because they will not practise it
themselves, run it down in others, and fasten invi¬
dious epithets upon it; they not only do that which
is evil, but justify it, and applaud it, and recom¬
mend it to others as safe and good. Note, (1.) Vir¬
tue and piety are good, for they are light and sweet,
they are pleasant and right; but sin and wickedness
are evil, they are darkness, all the fruit of ignorance
and mistake, and will be bitterness in the latter end.
(2.) Those do a great deal of wrong to God, and re¬
ligion, and conscience, to their own souls and to the
souls of others, who misrepresent these, and put false
colours upon them, who call drunkenness good fel¬
lowship, and covetousness good husbandry, and,
when they persecute the people of God, think they
do him good service; and, on the other hand, who
call seriousness ill-nature, and sober singularity ill-
breeding, who say all manner of evil falsely con¬
cerning the ways of godliness, and do what they
can to form in men’s minds prejudices against them ;
and this in defiance of evidence as plain and con¬
vincing as that of sense, by which we distinguish,
beyond contradiction, between light and darkness,
and that which to the taste is sweet and bitter.
4. Who, though they are guilty of such gross mis¬
takes as these, have a great opinion of their own
judgments, and value themselves mightily upon
their understanding; (x». 21.) they are wise in their
own eyes; the)' think themselves able to disprove
and baffle the reproofs and convictions of God’s
word, and to evade and elude both the searches
and the reaches of his judgments; that they can out¬
wit Infinite Wisdom, and countermine Providence
itself. Or, it may be taken more generally; God
resists the proud, those particularly who arc con¬
ceited of their own wisdom, and lean to their own
understanding; such must become fools, that they
may be truly wise, or else, at their end, they shall
appear to be fools before all the world.
5. Who gloried in it as a great accomplisninent,
that they were able to bear a great deal of strong
liquor without being overcome by it; (v. 22.) Who
are mighty to drink wine, and "use their strength
and vigour, not in the service of their country, but
in the Service of their lusts. Let drunkards know
from this scripture, that, (1.) They ungratefully
abuse their bodily strength, which God has given
them for good purooses, and by degrees cannot but
weaken it. (2.) It will not excuse them from the
guilt of drunkenness, that they can drink hard, and
yet keep their feet. (3.) Those who boast of their
drinking down others, glory in their shame. (4.)
How light soever men make of their drunkenness, it
is a sin which will certainly lay them open to the
wrath and curse of God.
6. Who, as judges, perverted justice, and went
counter to all the rules of equity, xs 23. This fol¬
lowed upon the former; they drink, and forget the
law, (Prov. xxxi. 5.) and err through wine, ( ch .
xxviii. 7.) and take bribes, that they may have
wherewithal to maintain their luxury. They" justify
the wicked for reward, and find some pretence or
other to clear him from his guilt, and shelter him
from punishment; and they condemn the innocent,
and take away their righteousness from them, over-
rale their pleas, deprive them of the means of clear¬
ing up their innocency, and give judgment against
them. In causes between man and man, might and
money would at any time prevail against right and
justice; and he who was ever so plainly in the
wrong, with a small bribe would carry the cause,
and recover costs. In criminal causes, though the
prisoner ever so plainly appeared to be guilty, yet,
for a reward, they would acquit him; if he were
innocent, yet, if he did not fc-e them well, nay, if
they were fee’d by the malicious prosecutor, or they
themselves had spleen against him, they would con¬
demn him.
II. The judgments described, which these sins
would bring upon them. Let not those expect to
live easily, who live thus wickedly; for the righte¬
ous God will take vengeance, v '. 24 — 30. Where
we may observe,
1. How complete this ruin will be, and how ne¬
cessarily and unavoidably it will follow upon their
sins. He had compared this people to a vine, (x\
7.) well-fixed, and which, it was hoped, would be
flourishing and fruitful; but the grace of God to¬
wards it was received in vain, and then the root be¬
came rottenness, being dried up from beneath, and
the blossom wculd of course blow off as dust, as a
light and worthless thing, Job xviii. 16. Sin weak¬
ens the strength, the root, of a people, so that they
are easily rooted up; it defaces the beauty, the blos¬
soms, of a people, and takes away the hopes of fruit.
The sin of unfruitfulncss is punished with the plague
of unfruitfulness. Sinners make themselves as
stubble and chaff, combustible matter, proper fuel
to the fire of God’s wrath, which then, of course,
devours and consumes them, as the fire devours the
stubble, and nobody can hinder it, or cares to hin
der it. Chaff is consumed, unhelped and unpitied.
2. How just the ruin will be; Because they have
cast away the law of the Lord of hosts, and would
not have him to reign over them ; and as the law of
i Moses was rejected and thrown off, so the word of
the Holy One of Israel by his servants the prophets,
j putting them in mind of his law, and calling them
' to obedience, was despised and disregarded. God
does not reject men for every transgression of his
law and word; but, when his word is despised, and
his law cast away, what can they expect, but that
God should utterly abandon them?
3. Whence this rain should come; (x>. 25.) it is
j destruction from the Almighty. (1.) The justice
I of God appoints it; for that is the anger of the Lord
■10
ISAIAH, VI.
which is kindled against his people, his necessary
vindication of the honour of his holiness and autho¬
rity. (2.) The power of God effects it; he hath
stretched forth his hand against them; that hand
which had many a time been stretched out for them
against their enemies, is now stretched out against
them, at full length, and in its full vigour; and who
knows the / tower of his anger? Whether they are
sensible of it or no, it is God that has smitten them,
has blasted their vine, and made it wither.
4. The consequences and continuance of this ruin.
When God comes forth in wrath against a people,
the hills tremble, fear seizes even their great men,
who are strong and high; the earth shakes under
men, and is ready to sink; and as this feels dread¬
ful, (what does more so than an earthquake?) so
what sight can be more frightful than the carcases of
of men torn with dogs, or thrown as dung (so the mar¬
gin reads) in the midst of the streets? This intimates
that great multitudes should be slain, not only soldiers
in the field of battle, but the inhabitants of their cities
put to the sword in cold blood, and that the survi¬
vors should neither have hands nor hearts to bury
them. This is very dreadful, and vet such is the
merit of sin, that, for all this, God's anger is not
turned away; that fire will burn as long as there
nemains any of the stubble and chaff to be fuel for
it: and his hand, which he stretched forth against
his people to smite them, because they do not by
prayer take hold of it, nor by reformation submit
themselves to it, is stretched out still.
5. The instruments that should be employed in
bringing this ruin upon them; it should be done by
the incursion of a foreign enemy, that should lay all
waste: no particular enemy is named, and therefore
we are to take it as a prediction of all the several
judgments of this kind which God brought upon the
Jews, Sennacherib’s invasion soon after, and the de¬
struction of Jerusalem by the Chaldeans first, and
at last by the Romans; and I think it is to be looked
upon also as a threatening of the like desolation of
those countries which harbour and countenance
those sins mentioned in the foregoing verses: it is
an exposition of those woes.
When God designs the ruin of a provoking peo-
ple,
(1.) He can send a great way off for instruments
to be employed in it; he can raise forces from afar,
and summon them from the end of the earth to at¬
tend his service, v. 26. Those who know him not,
are made of use to fulfil his counsel, when, by rea¬
son of their distance, they can scarcely be supposed
to have any ends of their own to serve. If God set
up his standard, he can incline men’s hearts to en¬
list themselves under it, though perhaps they know
not whv or wherefore. When the Lord of hosts is
pleased to make a general muster of the forces he
has at his command, he has a great army in an in¬
stant, Joel ii. 2, 11. He needs not sound a trumpet,
or beat a drum, to give them notice, or to animate
them; no, he does but hiss to them, or rather whis¬
tle to them, and that is enough; they hear that, and
that puts courage into them. Note, God has all the
creatures at his beck.
(2. ) He can make them come into the service with
incredible expedition; Behold , they shall come with
sfieed swiftly. Note, [1.] Those who will do God’s
work must not loiter, must not linger, nor shall they
when his time is come. [2.] Those who defy God’s
judgments, will be ashamed of their insolence when
it is too late; they said scornfully, (u. 19.) Let him
make sfieed, let him hasten his work, and they shall
find, to their terror and confusion, that he will; in
one hour is the judgment come.
(2.) He can carry them on in the service with
amazing forwardness and fury. This is described
here in very elegant and lofty expressions, v. 27 —
30. [1.] Though their marches be very long, yet
none among them shall be weary; so desirous shall
they be to engage, that they shall forget their wea¬
riness, and make no complaints of it. [2.] Though
the way be rough, and perhaps embarrassed by the
usual policies of war, yet none among them shall
stumble, but all the difficulties in their way shall
easily be got over. [3.] Though they be forced to
keep constant watch, none shall slumber nor sleep,
so intent shall they be upon their vvork, in prospect
of having the plunder of the city for their pains.
[4.] They shall not desire any rest or relaxation;
they shall not put off their clothes, nor loose the gir-
dle’of their loins, but shall always have their belts
on, and swords by their sides. [5.] They shall net
meet with the least hindrance to retard their march,
or oblige them to halt; not a latchet of their shoes
shall be broken, which they must stay to mend, as
Josh. ix. 13. [6.] Their arms and ammunition
shall all be fixed, and in good posture; their arrows
sharp, to wound deep, and all their bows bent, none
unstrung, for they expect to be soon in action. [7.]
Their horses and chariots of war are all fit for ser¬
vice; their horses so strong, so hardy, that their
hoofs shall be like flint, far from being beaten or
made tender, bv their long march; and the wheels
of their chariots not broken, or battered, or cut of
repair, but swift like a whirlwind, turning round so
strongly upon their axle-trees. [8.] All the soldiers
shall be bold and daring; (x>. 29.) their roaring, or
shouting, before a battle, shall be like a lion, who
with his roaring animates himself, and terrifies all
about him. They who would not hear the voice of
| God speaking to them by his prophets, but stopped
their ears against their charms, shall be made to
1 hear the voice of their enemies roaring against them,
and shall not be able to turn a deaf ear to it; they
shall roar like the roaring of the sea in a storm ; it
roars, and threatens to swallow up, as the lion roars,
and threatens to tear in pieces. [9.] There shall
not be the least prospect of relief or succour; the
enemy shall come in like a flood, and there shall be
none to lift up a standard against him; he shall seize
the prey, and none shall deliver it, none shall be able
to deliver it, nay, none shall so much as dare to at¬
tempt the deliverance of it, but shall give it up for
lost. Let the distressed look which way they will,
every thing appears dismal; for if God frown upon
us, how can any creature smile? First, Lock round
to the earth, to" the land, to that land that used to
be a land of light, and the joy of the whole earth,
and behold, darkness and sorrow, all frightful, all
mourning, nothing hopeful. Secondly, Look up to
heaven, and there the light is darkened, where one
would expect to have found it. If the light is dark¬
ened in the heavens, how great is that darkness!
If God hide his face, no marvel the heavens hide
theirs, and appear gloomy. Job xxxiv. 29. It is cur
wisdom, bv keeping a good conscience, to keep all
clear between us and heaven, that we may have
light from above, when clouds and darkness are
round about us.
CHAP. VI.
Hitherto, it should seem, Isaiah had prophesied a? a can
didate, having only a virtual and implicit commission
but here we have him (if I may so speak) solemnly or
dained and set apart to the prophetical office by a more
express explicit commission, as his work grew more upon
his hands: or, perhaps, having seen little success of his
ministry, he began to thinJr of giving it up; and there¬
fore God saw fit to renew m» commission here in this
chapter, in such a manner as might excite and encour¬
age his zeal and industry in the execution of if, though
he seemed to labour in vain. In this chapter, we have,
I. A very awful vision which Isaiah saw of the glory of
God, (v. 1 . .4.) the terror it put him into, (v. 5. ) and the
relief given him against that terror by an assurance of
I the pardon of his sins, v. 6,7. II. A very awful com-
ISAIAH, VI
41
aJssion which Isaiah received to go as a prophet, in Ciod’s
name, (v. 8.) by his preaching to harden the impenitent
in sin, and ripen them for ruin; (v. 9--12.) yet with a
reservation ol mercy for a remnant, v. 13. And it was
as to an evangelical prophet, that these things were show¬
ed him, and said to him.
IN the year that king Uzziah died 1
saw also the Lord sitting upon a
throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled
‘he temple. 2. Above it stood the Sera¬
phims: each one had six wings; with twain
lie covered his face, and with twain he co¬
vered his feet, and with twain he did fly.
3. And one cried unto another and said,
Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts: the
whole earth is full of his glory. 4. And the
posts of the door moved at the voice of him
that cried, and the house was filled with
smoke.
The vision which Isaiah saw when he was, as is
said of Samuel, established to be a j iro/ihet of the
Lord, (1 Sam. iii. 20.) was intended, 1. To con¬
firm his faith, that he might himself be abundantly
satisfied of the truth of those things which should
afterward be made known to him. Thus God
opened the communications of himself to him: but
such visions needed not to be afterward repeated,
upon every revelation. Thus God appeared at first
as a God of glory to Abraham, (Acts vii. 2.) and to
Moses, Exod. iii. 2. Ezekiel’s prophecies, and St.
John’s, begin with visions of the divine glory. 2.
To work upon his affections, that lie might be possessed
of such a reverence of God, as would both quicken
him, and fix him, to his service. They who are to
teach others the knowledge of God, ought to be well
acquainted with him themselves.
The vision is dated, for the greater certainty of
it ; it was in the year that king Uzziah died, who had
reigned, for the most part, as prosperously and well
as any of the kings of Judah, and reigned very long,
above fifty years: about the time that he died, Isaiah
saw this vision of God upon a throne; for when the
breath of princes goes forth, and they return to their
earth, this is our comfort, that the Lord shall reign
for ever, Ps. cxlvi. 3, 4, 10. Israel’s king dies,
but Israel’s God still lives. From the mortality of
great and good men, we should take occasion to look
up with an eve of faith to the King eternal, immor¬
tal. King Uzziah died under a cloud, for he was
shut up as a leper till the day of his death: as the
live’s of princes have their periods, so their glory is
often eclipsed; but as Goa is everlasting, so his
glory is everlasting. King Uzziah dies in a hospital,
but the King of kings still sits upon his throne.
What the prophet here saw is revealed to us,
that we, mixing faith with that revelation, may in
it, as in a glass, behold the glory of the Lord: let us
turn aside therefore, and see this great sight with
humble reverence.
I. See God upon his throne, and that throne high
and lifted up, not only above other thrones, as it
transcends them, but over other thrones, as it rales
and commands them. Isaiah saw not Jehovah —
the essence of God, (no man has seen that, or can
see it,) but Adonai — his dominion ; he saw the Lord
Jesus; so this vision is explained, (John xii. 41.) that
Isaiah now saw Christ’s glory, and spake of him;
which is an incontestable proof of the divinity of our
Saviour. He it is, who, when, after his resurrec¬
tion, he sat down on the right hand of God, did but
sit down where he was before, John xvii. 5. See
the rest of the Eternal Mind; Isaiah saw the Lord
Vol. iv. — F
sitting, Ps. xxix. 10. Sec the sovereignty rt the
Eternal Monarch; he shs upon a thmv , a throne
of glory, befi re which we must worship, a throne
of government, under which we must be subject,
and a throne i f grace, to which we may come bold
ly. This throne is high, and lifted up above all com¬
petition and contradiction.
II. See his temple, his church on earth, filled
with manifestations of his glory. His throne being
erected at the door of the temple, (as princes sat in
judgment at the gates,) his train, the skirts of his
robes, filled the temple, the whole world; for it is
all God’s temple; and as the heaven is his throne,
so the earth is his footstool; or, rather, the church,
which is filled, enriched, and beautified, with the
tokens of God’s special presence.
III. See the bright and blessed attendants on his
throne, in and by whom his glory is celebrated, and
his government served; (r. 2.) Above tie throne,
as it were hovering about it, or nigh to the throne,
bowing before it, with an eye to it, the seraphim
stood, the holy angels, who are called seraphim —
burners; for he makes his ministers a flaming fire,
(Ps. civ. 4.) they burn in love to God, and zeal for
his glory against sin, and he makes use of them as
instruments of his wrath, when he is a consuming
Fire to his enemies. Whether they were only two
or four, or (as I rather think) an innumerable com¬
pany of angels, that Isaiah saw, is uncertain; sec
Dan. v'li. 10. Note, It is the glory of the angels, tha*
they are seraphim, have heat proportionable to
their light, have abundance, not only cf divine
knowledge, but of holy love.
Special notice is taken of their -wings, (and of no
other part of thc-ir appearance,) because of the use
they made of them; which is designed for instruc¬
tion to us. They had each of them six wings, not
stretched upward, (as those whom Ezekiel saw, ch.
i. 11.) but, 1. Four were made use of for covering,
as the wings of a fowl, sitting, are; with the two
upper wings, next the head, they covered their
faces; and with the two 1 west wings they covered
their feet, or lower parts. This bespeaks their great
humility and reverence in their attendance upon
God, for he is greatly feared in the assembly of those
saints, Ps. lxxxix. 7. They not only cover their
feet, those members of the body which are less ho
nourable, (1 Cor. xii. 23.) but even their faces;
though angels’ faces, doubtless, are much fairer
than those of the children of men, (Acts vi. 15.)
yet, in the presence of God, they cov er them, be¬
cause they cannot bear the dazzling lustre of the
divine glory, and because, being conscious of an in¬
finite distance front the divine perfection, they are
ashamed to show their faces before the holv God,
who charges even his angels with folly, If they
should offer to vie with him, Job iv. 18. If angels
be thus reverent in their attendance on God, with
what godly fear should we approach his throne!
Else we do not the will of God as the angels do it.
Yet Moses, when he went into the mount with God,
took the vail from off his face, 2 Cor. iii. 18. 2.
Two were made use of for flight; when they are
sent on God’s errands, they fly swiftly, (Dan. ix.
21.) more swiftly with their own wings than if they
flew on the wings of the wind. This teaches us to
do the work of God with cheerfulness and expe di¬
tion. Do angels come upon the wing fr< m heaven
to earth, to minister for our good, and shall net we
soar upon the wing from earth to heaven, to share
with them in their glory? Luke xx. 36.
IV. Hear the anthem, or srng cf praise, which
the angels sing to the honour of him that sits on the
throne, v. 3. Observe, 1. How this song was sung;
with zeal and fervency they cried aloud; and with
unanimity they cried one to another, or with one
another; they sang alternately, but in concert, and
42
ISAIAH, VI.
without the least jarring voice to interrupt the har¬
mony. 2. What the song was; it is the same with
that’ which is sung by the four living creatures,
Rev. iv. 8. Note, (1.) Praising God always was,
and will be, to eternity, the work of heaven, and
the constant employment of blessed spirits above,
Ps. lxxxiv. 4. (2.) The church above is the same
in its praises; there is no change of times, or notes,
there.
Two things the seraphim here give God the
praise of;
[1.] His infinite perfections in himself. Here is
one of his most glorious titles praised; he is the
Lord of hosts, of their hosts, of all hosts; and one
of his most glorious attributes, his holiness, without
which his being the Lord of hosts, or, (as it is in the
parallel place, Rev. iv. 8.) the Lord God Almighty,
could not be, so much as it is, the matter of. our joy
and praise; for power, without purity to guide it,
would be a terror to mankind. None of all the di¬
vine attributes are celebrated in scripture so as this
is; God’s power was spoken twice, (Ps. lxii. 11.)
but his holiness thrice, Holy, holy, holy. This be¬
speaks, First, The zeal and fervency of the angels,
in praising God; they even want words to express
themselves, and therefore repeat the same again.
Secondly, The particular pleasure they take in
contemplating the holiness of God; this is a sub¬
ject they love to dwell upon, to harp upon, and are
loath to leave. Thirdly, The superlative excel¬
lency of God’s holiness above that of the purest
creatures. He is holy, thrice holy, infinitely holy,
originally, perfectly, and eternally, so. Fourthly,
It may refer to the three persons in the Godhead,
Holv Father, Holy Son, and Holy Spirit; (for it
follows, (x. 8.) Who will go for us?) or, perhaps,
to that which was, and is, and is to come; for that
title of God’s honour is added to this song, Rev. iv. 8.
Some make the angels here to applaud the equity
of that sentence which God was now about to pro-
n mice upon the Jewish nation. Herein he was,
and is, and will be, holy; his ways are equal.
[2. ] The manifestation of these to the children
of men; the earth is full of his glory, of the glory
of his power and purity; for he is holy in all his
works, Ps. cxlv. 17. The Jews thought the glory
of God should be confined to their land; but it is
here intimated, that, in gospel-times, (which are
pointed to in this chapter, ) the glory of God should
fill all the earth; the glory of his holiness, which is
indeed the glory of all his other attributes; this, then,
filed the temple, (v. 1.) but, in the latter days, the
earth shall be full of it.
V. Observe the marks and tokens of terror with
which the temple was filled, upon this vision of the
divine glory, v. 4. 1. The house was shaken; not
only the door, but even the posts of the door, which
were firmly fixed, moved at the voice of him that
cried, at the voice of God, who called to judgment,
(Ps. 1. 4.) at the voice of the angel, who praised
him. There are voices in heaven sufficient to drown
all the noises of the many waters in this lower world,
Ps. xciii. 3, 4. This violent concussion of the tem¬
ple was an indication of God’s wrath and displea¬
sure against the people for their sins; it was an
earnest of the destruction of it and the city, by the
Babylonians first, and afterwards by the Romans;
and it was designed to strike an awe upon us. Shall
walls and posts tremble before God, and shall not
we tremble? 2. The house was darkened; it was
filled with smoke, which was as a cloud spread upon
the face of his throne-, (Job xxvi. 9.) we cannot take
a full view of it, nor order our speech concerning it,
by reason of darkness. In the temple above there
will be no smoke, but every thing will be seen clear¬
ly; there God dwells in light, here he makes dark-
ntss his pavilion, 2 Chron. vi. 1.
5. Then said I, Wo is me ! for 1 am un¬
done; because I am a man of unclean lips,
and I dwell in the midst of a people of un¬
clean lips: for mine eyes have seen the
King, the Lord of hosts. 6. Then tlew one
of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal
in his hand, which he had taken with the
tongs from off the altar; 7. And he laid it
upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath
touched thy lips, and thine iniquity is taken
away, and thy sin purged. 3. Also I heard
the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall
I send, and who trill go for us? Then 1
said, Here am I; send me.
Our curiosity would lead us to inquire further
concerning the seraphim, their songs, and their ser¬
vices; but here we leave them, and must attend to
what passed between God and his prophet; secret
things belong not to us, the secret things of the
worfd of angels, but things revealed to and by the
rophets, which concern the administration of God’s
ingdom among men. Now here we have,
I. The consternation that the prophet was put
into by the vision which he saw of the glory of Gcd;
(v. 5.) Then said I, Wo is me! I should have said,
“ Blessed art thou, who hast been thus highly fa¬
voured, highly honoured, and dignified, for a time,
with the privilege of those glorious beings that al¬
ways behold the face of our Father. Blessed were
those eyes which saw the Lord sitting on his throne,
and those ears which heard the angels’ praists.”
And, one would think, he should have said, “ Hap¬
py am I, for ever happy; nothing now shall trouble
me, nothing make me blush or tremble;” on the
contrary, he cries out, “ Wo is me, for I am u?i-
done. Aias for me! I am a gone man, I shall surely
die; (Judges xiii. 22. — vi. 22.) I am silenced, I am
struck dumb, struck dead.” Thus Daniel, when
he heard the words of the angel, became dumb, and
there was no strength, no breath, left in him. Dan.
x. 15, 17. Observe,
1. What the prophet reflected upon in himself,
which terrified him; “lam undone, if Gcd deal
with me in strict justice, for I have made myself
obnoxious to his displeasure, because I am a man
of unclean lips.” Some think he refers particularly
to some rash word he had spoken, or to his sinful
silence in not reproving sin with the boldness and
freedom that were necessary; a sin which God’s
ministers have too much cause to charge themselves
with, and to blush at the remembrance of it. But
it may be taken more generally; I am a sinner;
particularly, I have offended in word; and who is
there that does not? Jam. iii. 2. WTe all have rea¬
son to bewail it before the Lord; (1.) That we are
of unclean lips ourselves; our lips are not consecra¬
ted to God; he has not had the first-fruits of our
lips, (Heb. xiii. 15.) and therefore they are counted
common and unclean, uncircumcised lips, Exod. vi.
30. Nay, they have been polluted with sin; we have
spoken the language of an unclean heart; that evil
communication corrupts good manners, and thereby
many have been defiled. We are un worth v and
unmeet to take God’s name into our lips. With
what a pure lip did the angels praise God ! “ But,”
says the prophet, “ I cannot praise him so, for I am
a man of unclean lips.” The best men in the world
have reason to be ashamed of themselves, and the
best of their services, when the)- come to compare
with the holy angels. The angels had celebrated
the purity and holiness of God; and therefore the
prophet, when he reflects upon sin, calls it unclean-
43
ISAIAH, VI.
ness; for the sinfulness of sin is its contrariety to the
holy nature of God, and, upon that account, espe¬
cially, it should appear both hateful and frightful
to us. The impurity of our lips ought to lie the
grief of our souls, for by our words we shall be jus¬
tified or condemned. (2. ) That we dwell among
those who are so too. We have reason to lament
it, that not we ourselves only are polluted, but that
the nature and race of mankind are so, the disease
i> hereditary and epidemical; which is so far from
lessening our guilt, that it should rather increase
our grief, especially considering that we have not
done what we might have done for the cleansing of
th ■ pollution of other people’s lips; nay, we have
rather learned their way, and spoken their language,
as Joseph in Egypt learned the courtier’s oath,
Gen. xlii. 16. “ I dwell in the midst of a people,
who by their impudent sinnings are pulling down
desolating judgments upon the land, which I, who
am a sinner, too justly may expect to be involved
in. ”
2. What gave occasion for these sad reflections at
this time; Mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord
of Hosts. He saw God’s sovereignty to be incon-
t stable, he is the King; and his power irresistible,
he is the Lord of hosts: these are comfortable truths
to God’s people, and yet they ought to strike an
awe upon us. Note, A believing sight of God’s glo¬
rious majesty should affect us all with reverence
and godly fear. We have reason to be abased in
the sense of that infinite distance that there is be¬
twixt us and God, and our own sinfulness and vile¬
ness before him, and to be afraid of his displeasure.
We are undone, if there be not a Mediator between
us and this holy God, 1 Sam. vi. 20. Isaiah was
thus humbled, to prepare him for the honour he
was now to be called to as a prophet. Note, Those
are fittest to be employed for God, who are low in
their own eyes, and are made deeply sensible of
their own weakness and un worthiness.
II. The silencing of the prophet’s fears by the
good words, and comfortable words, with which the
angel answered him, v. 6, 7. One of the seraphim
immediately flew to him, to purify him, and so to
pacify him. Note, 1. God has strong consolations
ready for holy mourners: they that humble them¬
selves in penitential shame and fear shall soon be
encouraged and exalted; they that are struck down
with the visions of God’s glory, shall soon be raised
up again with the visits of his grace; he that tears
will heal. 2. Angels are ministering spirits for the
good of the saints, for their spiritual good. Here
was one of the seraphim dismissed, for a time, from
attending on the throne of God’s glory, to be a mes¬
senger of his grace to a good man ; and so well pleas¬
ed was he with the office that he came flying to him.
To our Lord Jesus himself, in his agony, there ap¬
peared an angel from heaven, strengthening him,
Luke xxii. 43.
Here is, (1.) A comfortable sign given him of the
purging away of his sin. The seraph brought a
live coal from the altar, and touched his lips with
it ; not to hurt them, but to heal them ; not to cau¬
terize, but to cleanse them; for there were purifica¬
tions by fire, as well as by water, and the filth of
Jerusalem was purged by the spirit of burning, ch.
iv. 4. The blessed Spirit works as fire, Matth. iii. 1 1.
The seraph, being himself kindled with a divine
fire, put life into the prophet, to make him also
z •aiously affected, for the way to purge the lips
from the uncleanness of sin, is, to fire the soul with
the love of God. This live coal was taken off from the
altar, either the altar of incense, or that of burnt-
offerings; for they had both of them fire burning on
them continually. Nothing is powerful to cleanse
and comfort the soul, but what is taken from
Christ's satisfaction, and the intercession he ever
lives to make in the virtue of that satisfaction. It
must be a coal from his altar, that must put life
into us, and be our peace; it will not be done with
strange fire.
(2.) An explication of this sign; Lo, this has
touched thy lips, to assure thee of this, that thine
iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged. The
guilt of thy sin is removed by pardoning mercy, the
guilt of thy tongue-sins; thy corrupt disposition to
sin is removed by renewing grace; and therefore no¬
thing can hinder thee from being accepted with
God as a worshipper, in concert with the holy an¬
gels, or from being employed for God as a messen¬
ger to the children of men.” Those only who arc
thus purged from an evil conscience, are pixpared
to serve the living God, Heb. ix. 14. The taking
away of sin is necessary to our speaking with confi¬
dence and comfort, either to God in prayer, or from
God in preaching; nor are any so fit to display to
others the riches and power of gospel-grace, as
those who have themselves tasted the sweetness,
and felt the influence of that grace; and those shall
have their sin taken away, who complain of it as a
burthen, and see themselves in danger of being un¬
done by it.
III. The renewing of the prophet’s mission, v. 8.
Here is a communication between God and Isaiah
about this matter. Those that would assist others
in their correspondence with God, must not them¬
selves be strangers to it; for how can we expect that
God should speak by us, if we never heard him
speaking to us, or that we should be accepted as the
mouth of others to God, if we never spake to him
heartilv for ourselves? Observe here,
1. The counsel of God concerning Isaiah’s mis¬
sion. God is here brought in, after the manner rf
men, deliberating and advising with himself; Whom
shall I send? And who will go for us? God needs
not either to be counselled bv others, or to consult
with himself, he knows what he will do; but thus
he would show us that there is a counsel in his whole
will, and teach us to consider our ways, and parti¬
cularly, that the sending forth of ministers is a work
not to be done but upon mature deliberation.
Observe, (1.) Who it is that is consulting; it is
the Lord; God in his glory, whom he saw upon the
throne high and lifted up. It puts an honour upon
the ministry, that, when God would send a prophet
to speak in his name, he appeared in all the glories
of the upper world: ministers are the ambassadors
of the King of kings; how mean soever the)’ are,
he who sends them is great; it is God in three per¬
sons. Who will go for us? As Gen. i. 26. Let us
make man — Father, Son, and Holy Ghost; they all
concur, as in the creating, so in the redeeming, and
governing, of man. Ministers are ordained in the
same name into which all Christians are baptized.
(2.) What the consultation is; Whom shall I send?
And who will go? Some think it refers to the par¬
ticular message of wrath against Israel, v. 9, 10.
Who will be willing to go on such a melancholy er¬
rand, on which they will go in the bitterness of their
souls? Ezek. iii. i4. But I rather take it more
largely, for all those messages which he was intrusted
to deliver, in God’s name, to that people, in which
that hardening work was by no means the primarv
intention, but a secondary effect of them, 2 Cor. ii.
16. J Vhom shall I send? Intimating that the busi¬
ness was such as required a choice and well-accom¬
plished messenger, Jer. xlix. 19. God now appear¬
ed, attended with holy angels, and yet asks, IVhor.
shall I send? For he would send them a prophet
from among their brethren, Heb. ii. 5. Note, [1. ]
It is the unspeakable favour of God to us, that he it
pleased to send us his mind by men like ourselves,
whose terror shall not make us afraid, and who :.n
themselves concerned in the messages they bring
44
ISAIAH, VI.
They are workers together with God, who are sin- j
ners and sufferers together with us. [2. ] It is a rare
Ting to find one who is fit to go tor God, and to
carry his messages to the children of men; Whom
shall I send? Who is sufficient? Such a degree of
courage for God, and concern for the souls of men,
as is necessary to make a man faithful, and withal |
such an insight into the mysteries of the kingdom of
heaven, as is necessary to make a man skilful, are
seldom to be met with'. Such an interpreter of the
mind of God is one of a thousand, Job xxxiii. 23.
[3.] None are allowed to go for God but those who
are sent by him ; he will own none but those whom
he appoints, Rom. x. 15. It is Christ’s work to put
men into the ministry, 1 Tim. i. 12.
2. Tire consent of Isaiah to it; Then said I, Here
am I, send me. He was to go on a melancholy er¬
rand; the office seemed to go a begging, and every
body declined it, and yet Isaiah offered himself to
the service. It is an honour to be singular in appear¬
ing for God, Judges v. 7. We must not say, “I
would go, if I thought I should have good success;”
but, “T will go, and leave the success to God; here
am I, send me.” Isaiah had been himself in a me¬
lancholy frame, (v. 5.) full of doubts and fears; but
now that he had the assurance of the pardon of his
sin, the clouds were blown over, and he was fit for
service, and forward to it. What he says bespeaks,
(1.) His readiness; “ Here am 1; a volunteer, not
pressed into the service. ” Behold me; so the word
is. God says to us. Behold me, ( ch . lxv. 1.) and,
Here I am, \ch. lviii. 9.) even before we call; let
us say so to him when he does call. (2.) His reso¬
lution; “Here lam, ready to encounter the greatest
difficulties. I have set my face as a Jlint.” Com¬
pare this with ch. 1. 4—7. (3.) His referring him¬
self to God; “Send me whither thou wilt; make
what use thou pleasest of me. Send me; Lord, give
me commission and full instruction; send me, and
then, no doubt, thou wilt stand by me.” It is a
great comfort to those whom God sends, that they
go f r God, and may therefore speak in his name,
as having authority; and be assured that he will
bear them out.
9. And he said, Go, and tell this people,
Hear ye indeed, hut understand not ; and
see ye indeed, but perceive not. 1 0. Make
the heart of this people fat, and make their
ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they
see with their eyes, and hear with their ears,
and understand with their heart, and con¬
vert, and be healed. 11. Then said I, Lord,
how long l And he answered, Until the ci¬
ties be wasted without inhabitant, and the
houses without man, and the land be utterly
desolate; 12. And the Lord have removed
men far away, and there be a great forsaking
in the midst of the land. 13. But yet in it
shall be a tenth, and it shall return, and
shall be eaten : as a teil-tree, and as an oak,
w hose substance is in them when they cast
their leaves , so the holy seed shall be the
substance thereof.
God takes Isaiah at his word, and here sends him
on a strange errand — to foretell the ruin of his peo¬
ple, and even to ripen them for that ruin; to preach
Oiat which, by their abuse of it, would be to them
a savour of death unto death. And this was to be
a type and figure of the state of the Jewish church
ii. *-1)0 days of the Messian. when they should obsti
nately reject the gospel, and should, thereupon, be
rejected of God. These verses are quoted in part,
or referred to, six times in the New Testament;
which intimates, that, in gospel-times, these spirit¬
ual judgments would be most frequently inflicted;
and though they make the least noise, and come
not with observation, yet they are of all other the
most dreadful.
Isaiah is here given to understand these four
things:
1. That the generality of the people to whom he
was sent, would turn a deaf ear to his preaching,
and wilfully shut their eyes against all the discove¬
ries of the mind and will of God he had to make to
them; (v. 9.) “Go, and tell this people, this foolish
wretched people, tell them their own, tell them
how stupid and sottish they are.” Isaiah must
preach to them, and they will hear him indeed, but
that is all; they will not heed him, they will not un¬
derstand him, thev will not take any pains, nor use
that application of mind which is necessary to the
understanding of him; they are prejudiced against
that which is the true intent and meaning of what
he says, and therefore they will not understand him,
or pretend they do not. They see indeed; (for the
vision is made plain on tables, so that he who runs
may read it;) but they perceive not their own con¬
cern in it; it is to them as a tale that is told. Note,
There are many who hear the sound of God’s word,
but do not feel the power of it.
2. That forasmuch as they would not be made
better by his ministry, they should be made worse
by it; they that were wilfully blind, should be judi¬
cially blinded; (x>. 10.) “ They will not understand
or perceive thee, and therefore thou shalt be instru¬
mental to make their heart fat, senseless, and sen¬
sual, and so to make their ears yet more heavy, and
to shut their eyes the closer; so that, at length, their
recovery and repentance will become utterly impos¬
sible; they shall no more see with their eyes the
danger they are in, the ruin they are upon the brink
of, or the way of escape from it; they shall no more
hear with their ears the warnings and instructions
that are given them, nor understand with their
heart the things that belong to their peace, so as to
be converted from the error of their ways, and thus
be healed.” Note, (1.) The conversion of sinners
is the healing of them. (2.) A right understanding
is necessary to conversion. (3.) God, sometimes,
in a way of righteous judgment, gives men up to
blindness of mind and strong delusions, because they
would not receive the truth in the love of it, 2
Tliess. ii. 11, 12. He that is filthy, let him be filthy
still. (4.) Even the word of God oftentimes proves
a means of doing this. The evangelical prophet
himself makes the heart of this people fat, not only
as he foretells it, passing this sentence upon them, in
God’s name, and seals them under it, but as his
preaching had a tendency to it, rocking some asleep
in security, to whom it was a lovely song, and mak¬
ing others more outrageous, to whom it was such
a reproach, that they were not able to bear it. Seme
looked upon the word as a privilege, and their con¬
victions were smothered by it; (Jer. vii. 4.) others
looked upon it as a provocation, and their corrup¬
tions were exasperated by it.
3. That the consequence of this would be their
utter ruin, v. 11, 12. The prophet had nothing to
object against the justice of this sentence, nor does
he refuse to go upon such an errand, but asks,
“Lord, horn long?” (an abrupt question;) “Shall
it always be thus? Must I and other prophets al¬
ways labour in vain among them, and will things
never be better?” Or, (as should seem by the an¬
swer,) “ Lord, what will it come to at last? What
will be in the end hereof?” In answer to which, he
was told that it should issue in the final destruction
46
ISA t AH, VII.
of the Jewish church find nation. When the word ■
of God, especially the word of the gospel, has been
thus abused by them, they shall be unchurched,
and, consequently, undone. Their cities shall be
uninhabited, and their country-houses too; the land
shall be untilled, desolate with desolation, as it is in
the margin; the people who should replenish the
h uses and cultivate the ground, being all cut off by
sw rd, famine, or pestilence, and those who escape
with their lives being removed far away into cap¬
tivity, so that there shall bea great and general for-
s iking in the midst of the land; that populous coun-
trv sh ill become desert, and that glory of all lands
sh 11 be abandoned. Note, Spiritual judgments often
bring temporal judgments along with them upon
pel s ns and places. This was in part fulfilled in !
the destruction of Jerusalem by the Chaldeans,
when the land, being left desolate, enjoyed her sab¬
baths seventy years; but the foregoing predictions
being so expressly applied in the New Testament
to the Jews in our Saviour’s time, doubtless this
points at the destruction of that people by the Ho¬
mans, in which it had a complete accomplishment;
and tlie effects of it that people and that land remain
under to this day.
4. That yet a remnant should be reserved to be
the monuments of mercy, v. 13. This was so in
the last destruction of the Jewish nation; (Rom. xi.
5.) sit this 1 iresent time there is a remnant; for so
it was written here, But in it shall be a tenth, a cer- I
tain number, but a very small number, in compari¬
son with the multitude that shall perish in their un¬
belief; it is that which under the law, was God’s
proportion; thev shall be consecrated to God as the
tithes were, and shall be for his service and honour.
Concerning this tithe, this saved remnant, we are
here told, (1.) That they shall return, ( ch . vii. 3.
— x. 21.) shall return from sin to God and duty;
shall return out of captivity to their own land. God
will turn them and they shall be turned. (2. ) That
they shall be eaten, shall be accepted of God, as the
tithe was, which was meat in God’s house, Mai. iii.
10. The saving of this remnant shall be meat to
the faith and hope of those that wish well to God’s
kingdom. (3.) That they shall be like a timber-
tree in winter, which has life, though it has no
leaves; as a teil-tree, and as an oak, whose sub¬
stance is in them, even then when they cast their
leaves: so this remnant, though they may be stript
of their outward prosperity, and share with others
in common calamities, yet they shall recover them¬
selves as a tree in the spring, and flourish again;
though they fall, they shall not be utterly cast down:
there is hope of a tree, though it be cut down, that
it will sprout again. Job xiv. 7. (4. ) That this dis¬
tinguished remnant shall be the stay and support of
the public interests: the holy seed in the soul is the
substance of the man; a principle of grace, reign¬
ing in the heart, will keep life there; he that is
born of God, has his seed remaining in him, 1 John
iii. 9. So the holy seed in the land is the substance
of the land, keeps it from being quite dissolved, and
bears up the pillars of it, Ps. lxxv. 3. See ch. i. 9.
Some read the foregoing clause with this, thus: sis
the support at Shallecheth is in the elms and the
oaks, so the holy seed is the substance thereof; as the
trees that grow on either side of the causey (the
raised way, or terrace-walk, that leads from the
king’s palace to the temple, (1 Kings x. 5.) at the
gate of Shallecheth, 1 Chron. xxvi. 16.) support
the causey by keeping up the earth, which would
otherwise be crumbling away; so the small residue
of religious, serious, praying, people, are the sup¬
port of the state, and help to keep things together,
and save them from going to decay. Some make
the holy seed to be Christ; the Jewish nation was
therefore saved from utter ruin, because out of it,
as concerning the flesh, Christ was to come, Rom.
ix. 5. Destroy it not, for that Blessing is in it; ■(•.-,.
Ixv. 8.) and when that blessing was ci.inv, it was
soon destroyed. Now the consideration < f this is
designed for the support of the prophet in his work.
Though far the greater part should perish in their
unbelief, yet to some his word should be a savi ur
of life unto life. Ministers do not wholly lose their
labour, if they be but instrumental to save one poor
soul.
CHAP. VII.
This Chapter is an occasional sermon, in which the pro
phet. sings both of mercy and judgment to those that did
not perceive or understand either; he piped unto them,
but they danced not; mourned unto them, but they wep
not. Here is, I. The consternation that. Ahaz was i
upon an attempt upon the confederate forces of Syria
and Israel against Jerusalem, v. 1,2. II. The assurance
which God, by the prophet, sent him for his encourage¬
ment, that the attempt should" be defeated, and Jerusa¬
lem should be preserved, v. 3. .9. III. The confirma¬
tion of this by a sign which God gave to Ahaz, when he
refused to ask one, referring to Christ, and our redemp¬
tion by him, v. 10. . 16. IV. A threatening of the great
desolation that God would bring upon Ahaz and his king¬
dom by the Assyrians, notwithstanding their escape from
this present storm, because they went on still in their
wickedness, v. 17. . 25. And this is written both for our
comfort and for our admonition.
1. 4 ND it came to pass in the clays of
Ahaz, the son of Jotham, the son of
Uzziah king of Judah, that Rezin the kin?
of Syria, and Pekah the son of Remaliah,
king of Israel, went up towards Jerusalem
to war against it, but could not prevail
against it. 2. And it was told the house cl
David, saying, Syria is confederated with
Ephraim: and his heart was moved, and
the heart of his people, as the trees of the
wood are moved with the wind. 3. Then
said the Lord unto Isaiah, Go forth now !o
meet Ahaz, thou and Shear-jashub thy son.
at the end of the conduit of the upper pool,
in the highway of the fuller’s field; 4. And
say unto him, Take heed, and be quiet; fear
not, neither be faint-hearted, for the two
tails of these smoking firebrands, for (he
fierce anger of Rezin with Syria, and of
the son of Remaliah. 5. Recause Syria,
Ephraim, and the son of Remaliah, have
taken evil counsel against thee, saying, 6.
Let us go up against Judah and vex it, and
let us make a breach therein for us, and set
a king in the midst of it, even the son of
Tabeal: 7. Thus saith the Lord God, It
shall not stand, neither shall it come to pass.
3. For the head of Syria is Damascus, and
the head of Damascus is Rezin ; and with¬
in threescore and five years shall Ephraim
be broken, that it be not a people. 9. And
the head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the
head of Samaria is Remaliah’s son. If ye
will not believe, surely ye shall not he es¬
tablished.
The prophet Isaiah had his commission renewed
in the year that king Uzziah died, ch. vi. 1. Jotham
I his son reigned, and reigned well sixteen years: a1
46
ISAIAH, Vll.
that time, no doubt, Isaiah prophesied as he was
commanded, and yet we have not in this book any
of his prophecies dated in the reign of Jotham; but
this which is put first, was in the days of Ahaz
-he son of Jotham. Many excellent useful sermons
he preached, which were not left and published
upon record; for if all that was memorable had been
written, the world could not have contained the
books, John xxi. 25. Perhaps in the reign of Ahaz,
a wicked king, he had not opportunity to preach
so much at court as in Jotham’s time, and therefore
then hetvrofethe more, fora testimony against them.
Here is, $
I. A very formidable design laid against Jerusa¬
lem by Rezin king of Syria, and Pekah king of Is¬
rael, two neighbouring potentates, who had of late
made descents upon Judah severally; at the end of
the reign of Jotham, the Lord began to send against
Judah, Rezin and Pekah, 2 Kings xv. 37. But now,
in the second or third year of the reign of Ahaz,
encouraged by their former successes, they entered
.ntoan alliance against Judah; because Ahaz, though
he found the sword over his head, began his reign
with idolatry, God delivered him into the hand of
the king of Syria and of the king of Israel, (2
Chron. xxviii. 5.) and a great slaughter they made
in his kingdom; ( v . 6, 7.) flushed with this victory,
they7 went up toward Jerusalem, the royal city, to
war against it, to besiege it, and make themselves
masters of it; but it proved, in the issue, that they
could not gain their point. Note, The sin of a lancl
brings foreign invasion upon it, and betrays the
most advantageous posts and passes to the enemy.
And God sometimes makes one wicked nation a
scourge to another; but judgment ordinarily begins
at the house of God.
II. The great distress that Ahaz and his court
were in, when they received advice of this design;
It was told the house of David that Syria and
Ephraim had signed a league against Judah, v. 2.
This degenerate royal family is called the house of
David, to put us in mind of that article of God’s
covenant with David, If his children forsake my
law , I will chasten their transgression with the rod;
but my loving-kindness will I not utterly take away;
which is remarkably fulfilled in this chapter, P’s.
lxxxix. 30. News being brought that the two ar¬
mies of Syria and Israel were joined, and had taken
the field, the court, the city, and the country, were
thrown into consternation: the heart of Ahaz was
moved with fear, and then no wonder that the heart
of his fleofile was so, as the trees of the wood are
moved with the wind; they were tossed and shaken,
and put into a great disorder and confusion, were wa¬
vering and uncertain in their counsels, hurried hither
and thither, and could not fix in any steady resolu¬
tion; they yielded to the storm, and gave up all for
gone, concluding it in vain to make any resistance.
Now that which caused this fright, was, the sense
of guilt, and the weakness of their faith: they had
made God their Enemy, and knew not how to make
him their Friend, and therefore their fears tyran¬
nized over them ; while those whose consciences are
kept void of offence, and whose hearts are fixed,
trusting in God, need not be afraid of evil tidings;
though the earth be removed, yet will not they fear;
but the wicked flee at the shaking of a leaf. Lev.
xxvi. 36.
III. The orders and directions given to Isaiah to
go and encourage Ahaz in his distress; not for his
own sake, (he deserved to hear nothing from God
but words of terror, which might add affliction to
his grief,) but because he was a son of David, and
king of Judah. God had kindness for him for his
father’s sake, who must not be forgotten, and fer his
pec, pie’s sake, who must not be abandoned, but
would be encouraged if Ahaz were. Observe,
1. God appointed the prophet to meet Ahaz,
though he did not send to the prophet to speak with
him, nor desire him to inquire of the Lord for him;
(v. 3.) Go to meet Ahaz. Note, God is often found
of those who seek him not, much more will he be
found of those who seek him diligently; he speaks
comfort to many who not only are not worthy of it,
but do not so much as inquire after it.
2. He ordered him to take his little son with him.
because he carried a sermon in his name, Shear
jashub — i remnant shall return. The prophets
sometimes recorded what they preached, in the
significant names of their children, (as Hrs. i. 4, 6,
9.) therefore Isaiah’s children are said to be for
signs, ch. viii. 18. This son was so called, for the
encouragement of those of God’s people who were
carried captive, assuring them that they should re¬
turn, at least a remnant of them, which is more
than we can pretend to merit: yet, at this time, God
was better than his word; for he took care not only
that a remnant should return, but the whole num¬
ber of those whom the confederate forces of Syria
and Israel had taken prisoners, 2 Chron. xxviii. 15.
3. He directed him where he should find Ahaz;
he was to meet with him not in the temple, or the
synagogue, or royal chapel, but at the end of the
conduit of the upper fiool, where he was, probably,
with many of his servants about him, contriving
how to order the water-works, so as to secure them
to the city, or deprive the enemy of the benefit of
them, (c/;. xxii. 9, 11. 2 Chron. xxxii. 3, 4.) or
giving some necessary directions for the fortifying
of the city as well as they could; and perhaps find¬
ing every thing in a very bad posture of defence,
the conduit out of repair, as well as other things
gone to decay, his fears increased, and he was now
in greater perplexity than ever; therefore, Go meet
him there. Note, God sometimes sends comforts to
his people very seasonably, and, what time they are
most afraid, encourages them to trust in him.
4. He put words in his mouth, else the prophet
would not have known how to bring a message of
good to such a bad man, a sinner in Zion, that
ought to be afraid; but God intended it for the sup¬
port of faithful Israelites.
(1.) The prophet must rebuke their fears, and ad¬
vise them by no means to yield to them, but keep
their temper, and preserve the possession of their
own souls; (u. 4.) Take heed, ana be quiet. Note,
In order to comfort, there is need of caution; that
we may be quiet, it is necessary that we take heed
and watch against those things that threaten to dis¬
quiet us. “Fear not with this amazement, this
fear, that weakens, and has torment; neither let thy
heart be tender, so as to melt and fail within thee;
but pluck up thy spirits, have a good heart on it,
and be courageous; let not fear betray the succours
which reason and religion offer for thy support.”
Note, Those who expert God should help them,
must help themselves, Ps. xxvii. 14.
(2.) He must teach them to despise their enemies,
not in pride, or security, or incogitancy, (nothing
more dangerous than so to despise an enemy,) but
in faith and dependence upon God. Ahaz’s fear
called them two powerful politic princes, for either
of which he was an unequal match; but if united,
he durst not look them in the face, or make head
against them. “ No,” says the prophet, “they are
two tails of smoking firebrands; they are angry,
they are fierce, they are furious, as firebrands, as
fireballs; and they make one another worse by-
being in a confederacy, as sticks of fire, put to¬
gether, burn the more violently: but they are only
smoking firebrands; and where there is smoke there
is some fire, but it mav not be so much as was fear¬
ed; their threatening will vanish into smoke; Pha
raoh king of F.gupt is but a noise, (Jer. xlvi. 17.)
ISAIAH. VII
47
and Rezinking of Syria but a smoke; (and such are
all the-enemies of God’s church, smoking fax, that
.vill soon be quenched;) nay, they are but tails of
sm 'king firebrands, in a manner burnt out already;
their force is spent, they have consumed themselves
with the heat of their own anger, you may put your
foot on them, and tread them out.” The two king¬
doms of Syria and Israel were now near expiring.
Note, The more we have an eye to God as a con¬
suming Fire, the less reason we shall have to fear
men, though they are ever so furious, nay, we shall
be able to despise them as smoking firebrands.
(3.) He must assure them that the present design
of these High allies (so they thought themselves)
against Jerusalem, should certainly be defeated, and
come to nothing, v. 5 — 7.
[1.] That very thing which Ahaz thought most
formidable, is made the ground of their defeat — and
that was the depth of their designs and the height
of their hopes; “ Therefore they shall be baffled
and sent back with shame, because they have taken
evil counsel against thee, which is an offence to God;
these firebrands are a smoke in his nose, (ch. lxv. 5. )
and therefore must be extinguished. ” First, They
are very spiteful and malicious, and therefore they
shall not prosper. Judah had done them no wrong,
they had no pretence to quarrel with Ahaz; but,
without any reason, Let us go ufi against Judah,
and vex it. Note, Those that are vexatious, can¬
not expect to be prosperous; they say. Those that
love to do mischief, cannot expect to do well. Se¬
condly, They are very secure, and confident of suc¬
cess; they will vex Judah by going up against it;
vet that is not all, they do not doubt but to make a
breach in the wall of Jerusalem, wide enough for
them to march their army in at; or they count upon
dissecting or dividing the kingdom into two parts,
one for the king of Israel, the other for the king of
Syria, who had agreed in one viceroy; a king to be
set in the midst of it, even the son of Tabeal; some
obscure person; it is uncertain whether a Syrian or
an Israelite: so sure were they of gaining their
point, that they divided the prey before they had
caught it. Note, Those that are most scornful, are
commonly less successful, for surely' God scorns the
scorners.
[2.] God himself gives them his word that the
attempt should not take effect; (v. 7.) Thus saith
the Lord God, the sovereign Lord of all, who brings
the counsel of the heathen to nought, Ps. xxxiii. 10.
He saith, “ It shall not stand, neither shall come to
hass: their measures shall all be broken, and thev
shall not be able to bring to pass their enterprise.”
Note, whatever stands against God, or thinks to
stand without him, cannot stand long. Man pur¬
poses, but God disposes; and who is he that saith,
and it cometh to pass, if the Lord command it not,
or countermand it? Lam. iii. 37. SeeProv. xix. 21.
(4.) He must give them a prospect of the de¬
struction of these enemies, at last, that were now
such a terror to them. [1.] They should neither
of them enlarge their dominions, nor push their
conquests any further. The head city of Syria is Da¬
mascus, and the head man of Damascus is Rezin;
this he glories in, and this let him be content with,
v. 8. The head city of Ephraim has long been
Samaria, and the head man in Samaria is now
Pekah the son of Remaliah; these shall be made to
know their own, their bounds are fixed, and they
shall not pass them, to make themselves masters of
the cities of Judah, much less to make Jerusalem
their prey. Note, As God has appointed men the
bounds of their habitation, (Acts xvii. 26.) so he has
appointed princes the bounds of their dominion,
within which they ought to confine themselves, and
not encroach upon their neighbours’ rights. (2.)
Ephraim, which perhaps was the more malicious
and forward enemy ot me two, should shortly ne
quite rooted out, and should be so far from seizing
other people’s lands, that they should not be able to
hold their own. Interpreters are much at a loss
how to contemplate the sixty -five years within
which Ephraim shall cease to be a people ; for the
captivity of the ten tribes was but eleven years after
this; and some make it a mistake of the transcri¬
ber, and think it should be read, within six and
five years, just eleven. But it is hard to allow that.
Others make it to be sixty-five years from the time
that the prophet Amos first foretold the ruin of
the kingdom of the ten tribes: and some late inter¬
preters make it to look as far forward as the last
desolation of that country by Esarhaddon, which
was about sixty-five years after this; then Ephraim
was so broken, that it was no more a people. Now
it was the greatest folly in the world fer them to
be ruining their neighbours, who were themselves
marked for ruin, and so near to it. See what a pro¬
phet told them at this time, when they were tri¬
umphing over Judah, (2 Cbron. xxviii. 10.) .Ire
there not with you, even with you, sins against the
Lord your God?
(5.) He must urge them to mix faith with those as¬
surances which he had given them; (u. 9.) “If ye
will not believe what is said to you, surely ye shall
not be established; your shaken and disordered state
shall not be established, your unquiet unsettled
spirit shall not; though the things told you are very
encouraging, yet they will not be so to you, unless
you believe them, and be willing to take God’s
word.” Note, The grace of faith is absolutely ne¬
cessary to the quieting and composing of the mind
in the midst of all the tosses of this present time,
2 Chron. xx. 20.
10. Moreover, the Lord spake again
unto Ahaz, saying, 11. Ask thee a sign
of the Lord thy God: ask it either in the
depth, or in the height above. 1 2. But
Ahaz said, I will not ask, neither will I
tempt the Lord 13. And he said. Hear
ye now, O house of David; Is it a small
thing for you to weary men, but will ye
weary my God also ? 1 4. Therefore the
Lord himself shall give you a sign : Behold,
a Virgin shall conceive, and bear a son,
and shall call his name Immanuel. 15.
Butter and honey shall he eat, that he may
know to refuse the evil and choose the good:
16. For before the child shall know to re¬
fuse the evil, and choose the good, the land
that thou abhorrest shall be forsaken of
both her kings.
Here,
I. God, by tbe prophet, mokes a gracious offer
to Ahaz, to confirm the foregoing predictions, and
his faith in them, by such sign or miracle as he
should choose; (v. 10, 11.) Ask thee a sign of the
Lord thy God. See here the divine faithfulness
and veracity; God tells us nothing but what he is
able and ready to prove. See his wonderful conde¬
scension to the children of men, in that he is so
willing to show to the heirs of promise the immuta¬
bility of his counsel, Heb. vi. 17. He considers our
frame, and that, living in a world of sense, we are
apt to require sensible proofs, which therefore he
has favoured us with in sacramental signs and seals.
Ahaz was a bad man, yet God is called the Lord
his God, because he was a child of Abraham and
II David, and cf the covenants made with them. See
48
rSAIAH, VTI.
now gracious God is even to the evil and unthank¬
ful; Ahaz is bid to choose his sign, as Gideon about
the fleece; (Judg. vi. 37.) let him ask for a sign
either in the air, or earth, or water, for God’s power
is the same in each.
II. Ahaz rudely refuses this gracious offer, and
(which is not mannerly towards any superior) kicks
at the courtesy, and puts a slight upon it; ( v . 12.)
I will not ask. The true reason why he would not
ask for a sign, was, because, having a dependence
upon the Assyrians, their forces, and their gods, for
help, he would not thus far be beholden to the God
of Israel, or lay himself under obligations to him.
He would not ask a sign for the confirming of his
faith, because he resolved to persist in his unbelief,
and would indulge his doubts and distrusts; yet he
pretends a pious reason, I will not tomtit the Lord;
as if it would be a tempting of God to do that which
God himself invited and directed him to do. Note,
A secret disaffection to God is often disguised with
the specious colours of respect to him; and those
who are resolved that they will not trust God, yet
pretend that they will not tempt him.
III. The prophet reproves him and his court,
him and the house of David, the whole royal family,
for their contempt of prophecy, and the little value
they had for divine revelation; (v. 13.) “Is it a
small thing for you to weary men by your oppres¬
sion and tyranny, with which you make yourselves
burthensome and odious to all mankind? But will
you weary my God also, with the affronts you put
upon him?” As the unjust judge that neitheryhererf
God nor regarded man, Luke xviii. 2. Ye have
wearied the Lord with your words, Mai. ii. 17.
Nothing is more grievous to the God of heaven than
to be distrusted; “ Will ye weary my God? Will
ye suppose him to he tired and unable to help you,
or to be weary of doing you good? Whereas the
youths may faint and be weary, you may have tired
all your friends, the Creator of the ends of the earth
faints not, neither is weary,” ch. xl. 30, 31. Or
thus; in affronting the prophets, you think you put
a slight only upon men like yourselves, and consider
not that you affront God himself, whose messengers
they are, and put a slight upon him, who will resent
it accordingly. The prophet here calls God his
God, with a great deal of pleasure; Ahaz would not
say, He is my God, though the prophet had invited
him to say so, (v. 11.) The Lord thy God; but
Isaiah will say, “He is mine.” Note, Whatever
others do, we must avouch the Lord for ours, and
abide by him.
IV. The prophet, in God’s name, gives them a
sign; “ You will not ask a sign, but the unbelief of
man shall not make the promise of God of no effect;
The Lord himself shall give you a sign, (v. 14.) a
double sign:”
1. “ A sign in general of his good-will to Israel
and to the house of David; you may conclude that
he has mercy in store for you, and that you are not
forsaken of your God, how great soever your pre¬
sent distress and danger are; for of your nation, of
your family, the Messiah is to be born, and you
cannot be destroyed while that Blessing is in you;
which shall be introduced,” (1.) “In a glorious
manner; for whereas you have been often told that
he should be born among you, I am now further to
tell you that he shall be born of a virgin; which will
signify both the divine power and the divine purity
with which he shall be brought into the world; that
he shall be an extraordinary person, for he shall not
be born by ordinary generation, and that he shall he
a holy thing, not stained with the common pollu¬
tions of the human nature, therefore incontestably
fit to have the throne of his father David given
him.” Now this, though it was to be accomplished
above 500 years after, was a most encouraging sign
to the house of D avid, (and to them, under tnat
title, this prophecy is directed, r. 13.) and an assu¬
rance that God would not cast them < ff. Ephraim
did indeed envy Judah, (ch. xii. 13.) end s< light the
min of that kingdom, but could not prevail, for the
sceptre should never depart from Judah till the
coming of Shiloh, Gen. xlix. 10. Those whom God
designs for the great salvation, may take that for a
sign to them, that they shall ni t be swallowed up by
any trouble they may meet with in the way. (2.)
The Messiah shall be introduced on a glorious er¬
rand, wrapped up in his glorious name; they shall
call his name Immanuel — God with us, God-in our
nature, God at peace with us, in covenant with us.
This was fulfilled in their calling him Jesus — a Sa¬
viour; (M itth. i. 21 — 23.) for if he had not been
Immanuel — God with us, he could not have been
Jesus — a Saviour. Now this was a further sign of
God’s favour to the house of David and the tribe
of Judah; for he that intended to work this great
salvation among them, no doubt would work out for
them all those other salvations which were to be the
types and figures of this, and as it were preludes to
this. “ Here is a sign for you, not in the depth, or
in the height, but in the prophecy, in the promise,
in the covenant made with David, which you are
no strangers to; the promised Seed shall be Im¬
manuel, God with us; let that word comfort you,
(ch. viii. 10.) God is with us, and (v. 8.) that your
land is Immanuel’s land. Let not the heart of the
house of David be moved thus, (v. 2.) nor let Judah
fear the setting up of the son of Tabea], (v. 6.) for
nothing can cut off the entail on the Son of David
that shall be Immanuel.” Note, The strongest con¬
solations, in time of trouble, are those which are
borrowed from Christ, our relation to him, our inte¬
rest in him, and our expectations of him and from
him.
Of this Child it is further foretold, (v. 15.) that
though he shall not be born like other children, but
of a virgin, yet he shall be really and truly man, and
shall be nursed and brought up like other children;
Butter and honey shall he eat, as other children do,
particularly the children of that land which flowed
with milk and honey. Though he he conceived by
the power of the Holy Ghost, yet he shall not there¬
fore be fed with angels’ food, but, as it becomes
him, shall be in all things made like unto his bre¬
thren, Heh. ii. 17. Nor shall he, though horn thus
by extraordinary generation, be a man immediately,
but, as ether children, shall ntLance gradually
through the several states of infancy, childhood
and youth, to that of manhood, and, growing in
wisdom and stature, shall at length wax strong in
spirit, and come to maturity, so as to know how to
refuse the evil and choose the good. See Luke ii.
40, 52. Note, Children are fed when they are
little, that they may be taught and instructed when
they are grown up; they have their maintenance
in order to their education.
2. Here is another sign in particular of the speed j
destruction of these potent princes that were now a
terror to Judah, v. 16. “Before this child;” so it
should be read; “this child which I have now in
my arms,” (he means not Immanuel, but Shear-ja-
slmb his own son, whom he was ordered to takt
with him for a sign, v. 3.) “before this 'child shah
know how to refuse the evil and choose the good,”
(and those who' saw what his present stature and
forwardness were, would easily conjecture how long
that would be,) “ before this child will be three or
four years older, the land that thou abhorrest, these
confederate forces of Israelites and Syrians, whom
thou hast such an enmity to, and standest in such
dread of, shall be forsaken of both their kings, both
Pekah and Rezin;” who were in so close an alli¬
ance, that they seemed as if they were the kings
ISAIAH. VII.
49
b'lt of one kingdom. This was fully accomplished,
for within two or three years after this, Hosea con¬
spired ag linst Pekah, and slew him, (2 Kings xv.
30.1 and before that, the king of Assyria took Da¬
mascus, and slew Rezin, 2 Kings xvi. 9. Nay,
there was a present event, which happened imme¬
diately, and which this child carried the prediction
of in his name, which was a pledge and earnest of
• his further event. Shear-jashub signifies, The
remnant shall return, which doubtless points at the
wonderful return of those 200,000 captives which
Pekah and Rezin had carried away, who were
brought back, not by might or power, but by the
Spirit of the Lord of hosts. Read the story, 2
Chron. xxviii. 8 — 15. The prophetical naming of
this child having thus had its accomplishment, no
doubt this, which was further added concerning
him, should have its accomplishment likewise, that
Syria and Israel should be deprived of both their
kings. One mercy from God encourages us to hope
for another, if it engages us to prepare for another.
1 7. The Lord shall bring upon thee, and
upon thy people, and upon thy father’s
house, days that have not come, from the
day that Ephraim departed from Judah;
even the King of Assyria. 1 8. And it shall
come to pass in that day, that the Lord
shall hiss for the fly that is in the uttermost
part of the rivers of Egypt, and for t he -bee
that is in the land of Assyria: 19. And they
shall come, and shall rest all of them in the
desolate valleys, and in the holes of the
rocks, and upon all thorns, and upon all
bushes. 20. In the same day shall the Lord
shave with a razor that is hired, namely , by
them beyond the river, by the king of As¬
syria, the head, and the hair of the feet:
and it shall also consume the beard. 21.
And it shall come to pass in that day, that
a man shall nourish a young cow and two
sheep : 22. And it shall come to pass, for
the abundance of milk that they shall give,
he shall eat butter: for butter and honey
shall every one eat that is left in the land.
23. And it shall come to pass in that day,
that every place shall be, where there were
i thousand vines at a thousand silverlings,
.t shall even be for briers and thorns. 24.
With arrows and with bows shall men
come thither; because all the land shall
become briers and thorns. 25. And on all
hills that shall be digged with the mattock,
there shall not come thither the fear of
briers and thorns: but it shall be for the
sending forth of oxen, and for the treading
of lesser cattle.
After the comfortable promises made to Ahaz as
a branch of the house of David, here follow terrible
threatenings against him, as a degenerate branch
of that house; for though the loving-kindness of
(rod shall not be utterly taken awav, for the sake
pf David and the covenant made with him, yet his
iniquity shall be chastened with the rod, and his sin
with stripes. Let those that will not mix faith with
the promises of God, expect to hear the alarms of
his threatenings.
Vol .iv. — G
! 1. The judgment threatened is very great, u. ir
It is very great, for it is general; it shall be bieughi
upon the prince himself, (high as he is, he shall not
be out of the reach of it,) and upon the people, the
whole body of the nation, and upon the royal family,
u/ton all thy father’s house; it shall be a judgmen*
entailed on posterity, and shall go along with the
royal blood. It is very great, for it shall be unpre¬
cedented, days that have not come; so dark, so
gloomy, so melancholy, as never were the like since
the revolt of the ten tribes, when Ephraim departed
from Judah, which was indeed a sad time to the
house of David. Note, The longer men c< ntinue
in sin, the sorer punishments they have reason to
expect: it is the Lord that will bring these days
upon them, for our times are in his hand; and who
can resist or escape the judgments he brings?
II. I he enemy that should be employed as the
instrument of this judgment, is the king of Assyria.
Ahaz reposed strong confidence in that prince for
help against the confederate powers of Israel and
Syria, and minded the less what God said to him by
his prophet for his encouragement, because he built
much upon his interest in the king of Assyria, and
had meanly promised to be his servant, if he would
send him some succours; he had also made him a
present of gold and silver, for which he drained the
treasures both of church and state, 2 Kings xvi. 7,
8. Now God threatens that that king of Assvria,
whom he made his stay instead of God, should be¬
come a scourge to him. He was so speedily; for
when he catne to him, he distressed hint, but
strengthened him not: the reed not only brake un¬
der him, but ran into his hand, and pierced it, (2
Chron. xxviii. 20.) and from thenceforward the
kings of Assyria were, for a long time, grieving
thorns to Judah, and gave them a great deal of
trouble. Note, The creature that we make eur
hope, commonly proves cur hurt: the king of As¬
syria, not long after this, made himself master if
the ten tribes, carried them captive, and laid their
country waste, so as fully to answer the prediction
here; and perhaps it may refer to that, as an expli¬
cation of v. 8. where it is foretold that Ephraim
shall be broken, that it shall not be a people; and it
is easy to suppose that the prophet, at v. 17. turns
his speech to the king of Israel, denouncing God’s
judgments against him for invading Judah. But the
expositors universally understand' it of Ahaz and
his kingdom. Now observe,
1. Summons given to the invaders; (y. 18.) The
Lord shall whistle for the fy and the bee: See ch.
v. 26. Enemies that seem as contemptible as a fly
or a bee, and are as easily crushed; yet, when God
pleases, they shall do his work as effectually as
lions and young lions. Though they are as far dis¬
tant from one another as the rivers of Egypt end
the land of Assyria, yet they shall punctually met t
to join in this work, when God commands their at¬
tendance; for when God has work to do, he will not
be at a loss for instruments to do it with.
2. Possession taken by them, v. 19. It should
seem as if the country were in no condition to make
resistance; they find no difficulties in forcing their
way, but come and rest all of them in the desolate
valleys, which the inhabitants had deserted, upon
the first alarm, and left them a cheap and easy prey
to the invaders: they shall come and rest in the low
grounds like swarms of flies and bees, and shall ren¬
der themselves impregnable by taking shelter in the
holes of the rocks, as bees often do; and show them¬
selves formidable by appearing openlv upon all
thorns and all bushes; so generally shall the find be
overspread with them. These bees shall knit upon
the thorns and bushes, and there rest undisturbed.
3. Great desolations made, and the country ge¬
nerally depopulated; (x>. 20. The Lord shall' have
ISAIAH, VIII.
5'.)
the hair of the head, and beard, and feet; he shall
sweep all away, as the leper, when he was cleansed,
shaved off all his hair, Lev. xiv. 8, 9. This is done
with a razor which is hired; which God has hired,
as if he had none of his own; but what he hires, and
whom he employs in any service for him, he will
^iv for: see Ezek. xxix". 18, 19. Or which Ahaz
has hired for his assistance. God will make that
to be an instrument of his destruction, which he
nired into his service. Note, Many are beaten with
that arm of flesh which they trusted to rather than
to the arm of the Lord, and which they were at a
great expense upon; when by faith and prayer they
might have found cheap and easy succour in God.
4. The consequences of this general depopulation:
(1.) The flocks of cattle shall be all destroyed; so
that a man who had herds and flocks in abundance,
shall be stripped of them all by the enemy, and shall
with much ado save for his own use a young cow
and two sheep; a poor stock, (v. 21.) yet he shall
think himself happy in having any left.
(2.) The few cattle that are left, shall have such
a large compass of ground to feed in, that they shall
give abundance of milk, and very good milk, such
as shall produce butter enough, v. 22. There shall
also be such want of men, that the milk of one cow
and two sheep shall serve a whole family, which
used to keep abundance of servants, and consume a
great deal, but is now reduced.
(3.) The breed of cattle shall be destroyed; so
that they who used to eat flesh, (as the Jews com¬
monly did,) shall be necessitated to confine them¬
selves to butter and honey; for there shall bene flesh
for them, and the country shall be so depopulated,
that there shall be butter and honey enough for the
few that are left in it.
(4.) Good land, that used to be let well, shall be
all overrun with briers and thorns; (t>. 23.) where
there used to be a thousand vines planted, for which
the tenants used to pay a thousand shekels, or pie¬
ces of silver, yearly rent, there shall be nothing now
but briers and thorns, no profit either for landlord
or tenant; all being laid waste by the army of the
invaders. Note, God can soon turn a fruitful land
into barrenness; and it is just with him to turn vines
nto briers, if we, instead of bringing forth grapes
to him, bring forth wild grapes, ch. v. 4.
(5. ) The instruments of husbandry shall be turned
into instruments of war, v. 24. The whole land
teing become briers and thorns, the grounds that
men used to come to with sickles and pruning-hooks
to gather in the fruits, they shall now come to with
arrows and bows, either to hunt for wild beasts in
the thickets, or to defend themselves from the rob¬
bers, that lurk in the bushes seeking for prey, or to
kill the serpents and venomous beasts that are hid
there. This bespeaks a very sad change of the face
of that pleasant land. But what melancholy change
is there, which sin will not make with a people?
(6.) There where briers and thorns were wont to
be of use, and to do good service, even in the hedges,
for the defence of the enclosed grounds, they shall
be plucked up, and all laid in common. There
shall be briers and thorns in abundance, there where
they should not be, but none where there should be,
v. 25. The hills that shall be digged with the mat¬
tock, for special use, from which the cattle used to
be kept off with the fear of briers and thorns, shall
now be thrown open; the hedges broken down for
the boar out of the wood to waste it, Ps. lxxx. 12,
13. It shall be left at large for oxen to run in, and
lesser cattle.
Seethe effect of sin and the curse; it has made
the earth a forest of thorns and thistles, except as it
is forced into some order by the constant care and la¬
bour of man: ahd see what folly it is to set our hearts
upon possession of lands, be they ever so fruitful.
| ever so pleasant; it they lie ever so little neglected
and uncultivated, or if they be abused by a wastefu’
careless heir or tenant, or the ccuntrv be laid waste
by war, they will soon become frightful deserts.
Heaven is a paradise not subject to such changes.
CHAP. VIII.
This chapter, and the four next that follow it, (to ch. 13.}
are all one continued discourse or sermon; the scope ot
which is, to show the great destruction that should now
shortly be brought upon the kingdom of Israel, and the
great disturbance that should be given to the kingdom
of Judah by the king of Assyria, and that both were for
their sins; but rich provision is made of comfort for those
that fear God, in those dark times, referring especially
to the days of the Messiah. In this chapter we have, 1.
A prophecy of the destruction of the confederate king¬
doms of Syria and Israel by the king of Assyria, v. 1 . . 4.
II. Of the desolations that should be made by that proud,
victorious prince, in the land of Israel and Judan, v.
5 . . 8. III. Great encouragement given to the people of
God in the midst of those destructions; they are assured,
1. That the enemies shall not gain their point against
them, v. 9, 10. 2. That if they kept up the fear of God,
and kept down the fear of man, they should find God
their Refuge, (v. 11 . . 14.) and, while others stumbled,
and fell into despair, they should be enabled to wait on
God, and should see themselves reserved for better times,
v. 15. . 18. Lastly , he gives a necessary caution to all,
at their peril, not to consult with familiar spirits, for
they would thereby throw themselves into despair, but
to keep close to the word of God, v. 19 . . 22. And these
counsels, and these comforts, will still be of use to us in
time of trouble.
1. %/TOREOVER the Lord said unto
■I? A me, Take thee a great roll, and
write in it with a man’s pen concerning
Maher-shalal-hash-baz. 2. And I took unto
me faithful witnesses to record, Uriah the
priest, and Zechariah the son of Jebere-
chiah. 3. And I went unto the prophetess;
and she conceived and bare a son. Then
said the Lord tome, Call his name Maher-
shalal-hash-baz: 4. For before the child
shall have knowledge to cry, My father, and
My mother, the riches of Damascus, and the
spoil of Samaria shall be taken away before
the king of Assyria. 5. The Lord spake
also unto me again, saying, 6. Forasmuch
as this people refuseth the waters of Shiloah
that go softly, and rejoice in Rezin and Re-
maliah’s son : 7. Now therefore, behold,
the Lord bringeth up upon them the wa¬
ters of the river, strong and many, even the
king of Assyria, and all his glory: and he
shall come up over all his channels, and go
over all his banks: 8. And he shall pass
through .ludah; he shall overflow and go
over; he shall reach even to the neck: and
the stretching out of his wings shall fill the
breadth of thy land, O Immanuel.
In these verses we have a prophecy of the suc¬
cesses of the king of Assyria against Damascus,
Samaria, and Judah; that the two former should be
laid waste by him, and the last greatly frightened.
Here we have,
I. Orders given to the prophet to write this pro
phecy, and publish it to be seen and read of all men,
and to leave it upon record, that when the thine
came to pass, they might know that God had sen'
him; for that was one end of the prophecy, John
xiv. 29. He must take a great roll, which would
61
ISAIAH, VTII.
contain those five chapters, fairly written in words
at length; he must write in it all that he had fore¬
told concerning the king of Assyria’s invading the
country; he must write it with a man’s pen, in the
usual way and style of writing, so as that it might
be legible and intelligible by all. See Hab. ii. 2.
Write the vision and make it plain. They that
speak and write of tne tilings of God, should avoid
obscurity, and study to speak and write so as to be
understood, 1. Cor. xiv. 19. They that write for
men, should write with a man’s pen, and not covet
the pen or tongue of angels. And, forasmuch as it
is usual to put some short but significant compre¬
hensive title before books that are published, the
prophet is directed to call his book Maher-shalal-
hash-baz — Make speed to the s/ioil, hasten to the
prey; intimating that the Assyrian army should
come upon them with great speed, and make great
spoil; by this title the substance and meaning of the
book would be inquired after by those that had read
it, or heard it read. It is sometimes a good help to
memory to put much matter in few words, which
serve as handles by which we take hold of more.
II. The care of this prophet to get this record
well attested; (v. 2. ) / took unto me faithful wit¬
nesses to record; he wrote the prophecy in their
sight and presence, and made them subscribe their
names to it, that they might be ready, if afterward
there should be occasion, to make oath of it, that the
prophet had foretold the descent which the As¬
syrians made upon that country so long before; he
names the witnesses for the greater certainty, that/
they might be appealed to by any; they were two in
number; (for out of the mouth of two witnesses shall
every word be established;) one was, Uriah the
priest; he is mentioned in the story of Ahaz, but for
none of his good deeds, for he humoured Ahaz with
an idolatrous altar; (2 Kings xvi. 10, 11.) however,
at this time, no exception lay against him, he was a
f .ithful witness. See what full satisfaction the pro¬
phets took care to give to all persons concerned, of
the sincerity of their intentions, that we might know
with a full assurance the certainty of the things
wherein we have been instructed, and that we have
not followed cunningly-devised fables.
III. The making of the title of his book the name
of his child, that it might be the more taken notice
of, and the more effectually perpetuated, v. 3. His
wife (because the wife of a prophet) is called the
hrophetess; she conceived and bare a son, another
son, who must carry a sermon in his name, as the
former had done, ( ch . vii. 3. ) but with this differ¬
ence, that spake mercy, Shear-jashub — The rem¬
nant shall return; but that being slighted, this
speaks judgment, Maher-shalal-hash-baz — In mak¬
ing speed to the spoil he shall hasten, or he has
hastened, to the prey. The prophecy is doubled,
even in this one name, for the thing was certain; I
will hasten my word, Jer. i. 12. Every time the
'■hild was called by his name, or any part of it, it
wi uld serve as a memorandum of the judgments ap¬
proaching. Note, It is good for us often to put our-
s.-lves in mind of the changes and troubles we are
li .Me 1 1 in this world, and which perhaps are at the
door. When we look with pleasure on our chil¬
dren, it should be with the allay of this thought,
We know not what they are yet reserved for.
IV. The prophecy itself, which explains this
mystical name;
1. That Syria and Israel, who were now in con¬
federacy against Judah, should in a very little time
become an easy prey to the king of Assyria and his
victorious army; (v. 4. )“ Before the child, now newlv
born and named, should have knowledge to cru, My
father, and My mother,” (which are usally some
of the first things that children know, and some of
the first word' rnat children speak,) “in about a
year or two, the riches of Damascus, and the spoil
of Samaria, those cities that are now so secure
themselves, and so formidable to their neighbours,
shall be taken away before the king of alssyria, who
shall plunder both city and country, and send the
best effects of both into his own land, to enrich that,
and as trophies of his victory.” Note, Those
that spoil others, must expect to be themselves
spoiled, (ch. xxxiii. 1.) for the Lord is righteous,
and those that are troublesome shall be troubled.
2. That for ismuch as there were many in Judah,
that were secretly in the interests of Syria and Israel,
and were disaffected to the house of David, God
would chastise them also by the king of Assyria,
who should create a great deal of vexation to Judah,
as was foretold, ch. vii. 17.
Observe, (1.) What was the sin of the discon¬
tented party in Judah; (v. 6.) This people, when;
the prophet here speaks to, refuse the waters cf
Shiloah that go softly, despise their own country
and the government of it, and love to run it down,
because it does not make so great a figure, and so
great a noise in the world, as some other kings and
kingdoms do. They refuse the comforts which
| God’s prophets offer them from the word of God,
j speaking to them in a still small voice, and make
i nothing of them; but they rejoice in Rezin and Re-
maliah's son, who were the enemies of their coun¬
try, and were now actually invading it; they cried
them up as brave men, magnified their policies and
strength, applauded their conduct, were well-pleas¬
ed with their success, and were hearty well-wishers
to their designs, and resolved to desert and go ovei
to them. Such vipers does many a state foster
its bosom, that eat its bread, and yet adhere to its
enemies, and are ready to quit its interests, if they
but seem to totter.
(2.) The judgment which God would bring upon
them for this sin. The same king of Assyria, that
should lay Ephraim and Syria waste, should be a
scourge and terror to those of their party in Judah,
v. vii. 8. Because they refuse the waters of Shiloah,
and will not accommodate themselves to tne govern¬
ment God has set over them, but are uneasy under
it, therefore the Lord brings upon them the waters
of the river, strong and many, the river Euphrates ;
they slighted the land of Judah, because it had no
river to boast of comparable to that; the river at Je¬
rusalem was a very inconsiderable one. “Well,”
says God, “ if you be such admirers of Euphrates,
you shall have enough of it; the king of Assyria,
whose country lies upon that river, shall come with
his glory, with his great army, which you cry up as
his glory, despising your own king, because he can¬
not bring such an army as that into the field; God
shall bring that army upon you. ” If we value men,
if we overvalue them, for their worldly wealth and
power, it is just with God to make them by that a
scourge to us. Tt is used as an argument against
magnifying rich men, that rich men oppress us,
Jam. ii. 3, 6. Let us be best pleased with the wa¬
ters of Shiloah, that go softly, for rapid streams are
dangerous. It is threatened that the Assyrian army
should break in upon them like a deluge, or inunda¬
tion of waters, bearing down all before it, should
come up over all his channels, and overflow all
his banks; it would be to no purpose to oppose
or withstand them; Sennacherib and his army
should pass through Judah, and meet with so
little resistance, that it should look more like a
march through the country, than a descent upon
it; He shall reach even to the neck; he shall ad¬
vance so far as to lay siege to Jerusalem, the
head of the kingdom, and nothing but that shall be
kept out of his hands; for that was the holy city
Note, in the greatest deluge of trouble, God can,
. and will, keep.the head of his people above wa' r.
ISAIAH, VIII.
52
nnd so preserve their comforts and spiritual lives ; 1
that the waters that come into their souls, may reach to!
the neck, (Ps. lxix. 1.) but there shall their proud
waves be stayed. And here is another comfortable
intimation, that though the stretching cut of the
wings of the Assyrian, that bird of prey, though the
right and left wing of his army, should fill the
breadth of the land of- Judah, yet still it was Im¬
manuel’s land. It is thy land, O Immanuel; it was
to be Christ’s land, for there he was to be born, and
live, and preach, and work miracles. He was Zi¬
on’s King, and therefore had a peculiar interest in,
and concern for, that land. Note, The lands that
Immanuel owns for his, as he does all those lands
that own him, though they may be deluged, shall
not be destroyed: for when the enemy shall come in
tike a flood, Immanuel shall secure his own, and
shall lift up a standard against him, ch. lix. 19.
9. Associate yourselves, O ye people, and
ye shall be broken in pieces; and give ear,
all ye of far countries: gird yourselves, and
ye shall be broken in pieces; gird yourselves,
and ye shall be broken in pieces. 1 0. Take
counsel together, and it shall come to nought ;
speak the word, and it shall not stand: for
God is with us. 1 1. For the Lord spake
thus to me with a strong hand, and in¬
structed me, that I should not walk in the
way of this people, saying, 1 2. Say ye not,
A confederacy, to all them to whom this peo¬
ple shall say, A confederacy : neither fear ye
their fear, nor be afraid. 13. Sanctify the
Lord of hosts himself ; and let him he your
fear, and let him be your dread. 1 4. And he
shall be for a sanctuary: but for a stone of
stumbling, and for a rock of offence, to both
the houses of Israel; for a gin and for a snare
to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 15. And
many among them shall stumble and fall,
and be broken, and be snared, and be taken.
The prophet here returns to speak of the present
distress that Ahaz, and his court and kingdom,
were in, upon account of the threatening confede¬
racy of the ten tribes, and the Syrians, against them.
And in these verses,
I. He triumphs over the invading enemies, and,
in effect, sets them at defiance, and bids them do
their worst; (y. ix. 10.) “ O ye people, ye of far
countries, give ear to what the prophet says to you
in God’s name.
1. “We doubt not but you will now make your
utmost efforts against Judah and Jerusalem; you as¬
sociate yourselves in a strict alliance, you gird your¬
selves, and again you gird yourselves, you prepare
far action, you address yourselves to it with resolu¬
tion, you gird on your swords, you gird up your
loins, you animate and encourage yourselves and
one another with all the considerations you can think
of, you take counsel together, call councils of war,
and all heads are at work, about the proper method
fir making yourselves masters of the land of Judah,
you speak the word, you cojne to resolutions con¬
cerning it, and are not always deliberating, you de¬
termine what to do, and are very confident of the
success of it, that the matter will be accomplished
with a word’s speaking.” Note, It is with a great
deal of policy, resolution, and assurance, that the
church’s enemies carry on their designs against it;
end abundance of pains they take to roll a stone
that will certainly return upon them. t
2. “ This is to let you know that all your efforts
will be ineffectual; you cannot, you shall not, gain
your point, nor carry the day; you shall be broken
in pieces; though you associate yourselves, though
you gird yourselves, thou you proceed with all the
policy and precaution imaginable, yet, I tell ycu
again and again, all your projects shall be baffled,
you shall be broken in pieces; nay, not only ycur
attempts shall be ruined, but your attempts shall be
your ruin; you shall be broken by those designs you
have formed against Jerusalem; your councils shall
come to naught; for there is no wisdom or counsel
against the Lord; your resolves will not be put in
execution, they shall not stand; you speak the word,
but who is he that saith, and it cometh to pass, if the
Lord commandeth it not? What sets up itself against
God, and his cause, and counsel, cannot stand, but
must inevitably fall. For God is with us;” (this re¬
fers to the name of Immanuel — God with us;) “the
Messiah is to be bom among us, and a people de¬
signed for such an honour cannot be given up to ut¬
ter min; we have now the special presence of God
with us in his temple, his oracles, his promises, and
these are our defence. God is with us, he is on cur
side, to take our part, and fight for us; and if God
be for us, who can be against us?” Thus does the
daughter of Zion despise them.
II. He comforts and encourages the people of God
with the same comforts and encouragements which
he himself had received: the attempts made upon
them were very formidable; the house of David, the
court and royal family, were at their wits’ end, (ch.
vii. 2.) and then no marv el if the people were in a
consternation.
Now, 1. The prophet tells us how he was him¬
self taught of God not to give way to such amazing
fears as the people were disturbed with, nor to run
into the same measures with them ; (v. 11.) “ The
Lord spake to me with a strong hand, not to walk in
the way of this people; not to say as they say, nor
do as they do, nor to entertain the same frightful
apprehensions of things, nor to approve of their pro¬
jects of making peace upon any terms, or calling in
the help of the Assyrians.” God instructed the
prophet not to go down the stream. Note, .(1.)
There is a proneness in the best of men to be
frightened at threatening clouds, especially when
fears are epidemical. We are all too apt to walk in
the way of the people we live among, though it be
not a good way. (2.) Those whom God lov es and
owns, he will instruct, and enable to swim against
the stream of common cori-uptions, particularly of
common fears. He will find ways to teach his own
people not to walk in the way of other people, but
in a sober singularity. (3.) Corruption is some¬
times so active in the hearts even of good men, that
they have need to be taught their duty with a strong
hand, and it is God’s prerogative to teach so, for he
only can give an understanding, and overpower the
contradiction of unbelief and prejudice. He can
teach the heart; and herein none teaches like him.
(4.) Those that are to teach others have need
to be themselves well instructed in their duty, ar.d
then they teach most powerfully, when they teach
experimentally; the word that comes from the
heart, is most likely to reach to the heart; and
what we are ourselves by the grace of God instruct¬
ed in, we should, as we are able, teach others also.
2. Now what is it that he says to God’s people?
(1.) He cautions them againsta sinful fear, v. 12.
It seems, it was the way of this people at this time,
and fear is catching; he whose heart fails him,
makes his brethren’s heart to fail, like his heart;
(Deut. xx. 8.) therefore Say ye not, A confederacy ,
to all them to whom this people shall say, A con fede¬
racy: that is, [1.] “Be net associated with them
in the confederacies they are pr; jecting and fire
ISAIAH, VIII.
casting for. Do not join with those that, for the
securing of themselves, are for making a league
with the Assyrians, through unbelief, and distrust
of God and their cause. l)o not come into any such
confederacy.” Note, It concerns us, in time of
trouble, to watch against all such fears as put us
upon taking any indirect courses for our own securi¬
ty. [2.] “ Be not afraid of the confederacies they
frighten themselves and one another with. Do not
amuse yourselves with the apprehension of a con¬
federacy, upon every thing that stirs, nor, when any
little thing is amiss, cry out presently, There is a plot,
a plot. When they talk what dismal news there is,
Syria in joined with Efihraim, what will become of
us? Must we fight, or must we flee, or must we
yield? Do not you fear their fear. Be not afraid
of the signs of heaven, as the heathen are, Jer. x.
2. Be not afraid of evil things on earth, but let
your hearts be fixed. Fear not that which they
fear, nor be afraid as they are. Be not put into such
a fright as causes trembling and shaking;” so the
word signifies. Note, When the church’s enemies
have sinful confederacies on foot, the church’s
friends should watch against the sinful fears of those
confederacies.
(2.) He advises them to a gracious, religious fear;
But sanctify the Lord of hosts himself, v. 13. Note,
The believing fear of God is a special preservative
against the disquieting fear of man; see 1 Pet. iii.
Id, 15, where this is quoted, and applied to suffer¬
ing Christians, [l.j We must look upon God as
the Lord of hosts, that has all power in his hand,
and all creatures at his beck. [2.] We must sanc¬
tify him accordingly, give him the glory due to that
name, and carry it toward him as those that believe
him to be a holy God. [3.] We must make him
our Fear, the Object of our fear, and make him our
Dread; keep up a reverence of his providence, and
stand in awe of his sovereignty; be afraid of his dis¬
pleasure, and silently acquiesce in all his disposals.
Were we but duly affected with the greatness and
glory of God, we should see the pomp of our ene¬
mies eclipsed and clouded, and all their power re¬
strained and under check; see Neh. iv. 14. That
they are afraid of the re/iroach of men, forget the
Lord their Maker, ch. li. 12, 13. Compare Luke
xii. 4, 5.
(3.) He assures them of a holy security and se¬
renity of mind, in so doing; (y. 14.) “ He shall be
for a Sanctuary; make him your Fear, and vou
shall find him your Hope, your Help, your De¬
fence, and your mighty Deliverer. He will sanctify
and preserve you. He will be fora Sanctuary;’
[1.] “ To make you holy; He will be your Sancti¬
fication;” so some read if. If we sanctify God by
our praises, he will sanctify us by his grace. [2. ]
“To make you easy; He will be your Sanctuary,
to which you may flee for safety, and where you are
privileged from all the arrests of fear; you shall
find an inviolable refuge and security in him, and
see yourselves out of the reach of danger.” They
that’ truly fear God, shall not need to fear any evil.
III. He threatens the ruin of the ungodly and un¬
believing, both in Judah and Israel. They have no
part nor lot in the foregoing comforts; that God,
who will be a Sanctuary to those who trust in him,
will be a Stone of stumbling, and a Rock of offence,
to those who leave these waters of Shiloah, and re¬
joice in Rezin and Remaliah’s son, (y. 6.) who
make the creature their fear and their hope, x>. 14,
15. The prophet foresees that the greatest part of
both the houses of Israel would not sanctify the Lord
of hosts, and to them he would be for a Gin and a
Snare; he would be a terror to them, as he would
be a Support and Stay to those that trusted in him.
Instead of profiting by the word of God, they should
be offended at it; and the providences of God, in- I
stead of leading then\ to him, would drive them
from him. What was a savour of life untc life to
others, would be a savour of death unto death to
them. So that many among them shall stumble
and fall; they shall fall both into sin and into ruin,
they shall fall by the sword, shall be taken prison¬
ers, and go into captivity. Note, If the things of
God be an offence for us, they will be an undoing to
us. Some apply this to the unbelieving Jews, who
rejected Christ, and to whom he became a Stone of
stumbling, for the apostle quotes this scripture with
application to all those who persisted in their unbe¬
lief of the gospel of Christ; (1 Pet. ii. 8.) to them
he is a rock of offence, because, being disobedient to
the word, they stumble at it.
16. Bind up the testimony, seal the law
among my disciples. 1 7. And 1 will wait
upon the Lord, that hideth his face from
the house of Jacob, and I will look for him.
18. Behold, I, and the children whom the
Lord hath given me, are for signs and for
wonders in Israel, from the Lord of hosts,
which dwelleth in mount Zion. 19. And
when they shall say unto you, Seek unto
them that have familiar spirits, and unto the
wizards that peep and that mutter; should
not a people seek unto their God? for the
living to the dead? 20. To the law and to
the testimony: if they speak not according
to this word, it is because there is no light in
them. 21. And they shall pass through it
hardly bestead and hungry : and it Eyhall
come to pass, that, when they shall be hun¬
gry, they shall fret themselves, and curse
their king and their God, and look upward.
22. And they shall look unto the earth ; and
behold trouble and darkness, dimness of an¬
guish; and they shall be driven to darkness.
In these verses, we have,
I. The unspeakable privilege which the people
of God enjoy, in having the oracles of Gcd consigned
over to them, and being intrusted with the sacred
writings; that they may sanctify the Lord of hosts,
may make him their Fear, and find him their Sanc¬
tuary; Bind uji the testimony, v. 16. Note, It is a
great instance of God’s care of his church and love
of it, that he has lodged in it the valuable treasure
of divine revelation. 1. It is a testimony and a law;
not only this prophecy is so, which must therefore
be preserved safe for the comfort of God’s people in
the approaching times of trouble and distress, but
the whole word of God is so; God has attested it,
and he has enjoined it. As a testimony, it directs
our faith; as a law, it directs our practice; and we
ought both to subscribe to the truths of it, and tr
submit to the precepts of it 2. This testimony ana
this law are bound up and sealed, for we me not to
add to them, or diminish from them; tnev are a
letter from God to man, folded up and sealed; a
proclamation under the broad seal. The binding
up and sealing of the Old Testament signified, that
the full explication of many of the prophecies of it
was reserved for the New Testament times; (Dan
xii. 4.) Seal the book till the time of the end; but
what was then bound up and sealed, is now open
and unsealed, and revealed unto babes, Matth. xi.
25. Yet with reference to the other world, and the
future state, still the testimony is bound up and
sealed, for we know but in part, and prophecy bu'
54
ISAIAH, VIII.
in part. 3. They are lodged as a sacred deposit in
the hands of the disciples* of the children of the
fcrofiheta and the covenant, Acts iii. 25. This is
the good thing which is committed to tin m, and
which they are charged with the custody of, 2 Tim.
i. 13, 14. ' Those that had prophets for their tutors,
must still keep close to the written word.
II. The good use which we ought to make of this
privilege. This we are taught,
1. By the prophet’s own practice and resolutions,
17, i8. He embraced the law and the testimony,
and he had the comfort of it, in the midst of the
m my discouragements he met with. Note, Those
ministers can best recommend the word of God to
others, that have themselves found the satisfaction
of relying upon it. Observe,
(1.) The discouragements which the prophet la¬
ir lured under; he specifies two; [1.] 1 he frowns
of God, not so much upon himself, but upon his
people, whose interests lay very n.ear his heart;
“He hides his face from the house of Jacob, and
seems, at present, to neglect, and lay them under
the tokens of his displeasure.” The prophet was
himself employed in revealing God’s wrath against
them, and yet" grieved thus for it, as one that did
' not desire the woful day. If the house of Jacob for¬
sake the God of Jacob, let it not be thought strange
that he hides his face from them. [2.] The con¬
tempt and reproaches of men, not only upon him¬
self, but upon his disciples, among whom the law
and the testimony were sealed; I and the children
which the Lord hath given me, are for signs and
wonders; we are gazed at as monsters or outlandish
people, pointed at as we go along the streets. Pro¬
bably the prophetical names that were given his
children were ridiculed and bantered by the profane
scoffers of the town. Jam as a wonder unto many,
Ps. lxxi. 7. God’s people are the world’s wonder,
(Zecli. iii. 8.) for their singularity, and because
they run not with them to the same excess of riot,
1 Pet. iv. 4. The prophet was herein a type of
Christ; for this is quoted (Heb. ii. 13.) to prove
that believers are Christ’s children; Behold, land
the children which God hath given me. Parents
must look upon their children as God’s gifts, his
gracious gifts; Jacob did so, Gen. xxxiii. 5. Min¬
isters must look upon their converts as their chil¬
dren, and be tender of them accordingly, (1 Thcss.
ii. 7.) and as the children which God has given
them; for whatever good we are instrumental of to
others, it is owing to the grace of God. Christ
looks upon believers as his children, which the
Father gave him; (John xvii. 6.) and both he and
they are for signs and wonders, spoken against,
(Luke ii. 34.) every where spoken against, Acts
xxviii. 22.
(2. ) The encouragement he took, in reference to
these discouragements. [1.] He saw the hand of
God in all that which was discouraging to him, and
kept his eye upon that. Whatever trouble the
house of Jacob is in, it comes from God’s hiding his
face; nay, whatever contempt is put upon him or
his friends, it is from the Lord of hosts; he has bid¬
den Shimei curse David, Job xix. 13 — xxx. 11.
[2.] He saw God dwelling in mount Zion, mani¬
festing himself to his people, and ready to hear
their prayers, and receive their homage. Though,
for the present, he hide his face from the house of
Jacob, yet they know where to find him, and re¬
cover the sight of him; he dwells in Mount Zion.
[3.] He therefore resolved to wait upon the Lord,
: nd to look for him; to attend his motions, even
while he hid his face, and to expect with an hum¬
ble assurance his returns in a way of mercy. Those
that wait upon God by faith and prayer, may look
for him with hope and joy. When we have not
sensible comforts, we must still keep up our observ¬
ance of God and obedience to him, and then wait
awhile; at evening-time it shall be light.
2. By the. counsel and advice which he gives to
his disciples, among whom the law and the testi¬
mony were sealed, to whom were committed the
lively oracles.
(1.) He supposes they would be tempted, in the
day of their distress, to consult them that had fa¬
miliar spirits, that dealt with the devil, asked his
advice, and desired to be informed by him concern¬
ing things to come, that they might take their mea¬
sures accordingly. Thus Saul, when he was in
straits, made his application to the witch of F.ndor,
(1 Sam. xxviii. 7, 15.) and Ahaziah to the God ct
Ekron, 2 Kings i. 2. These conjurors had fantastic
gestures and tones; they peeped and muttered,
they muffled their heads, that they could neither
see nor be seen plainly, but peeped and were peep¬
ed at: or both the words here used may refer to
their voice or manner of speaking; they delivered
what they had to say with a low, hollow, broken
sound, scarcely articulate; and sometimes in a pul¬
ing or mournful tone, like a crane, or a swallow, or
a dove, ch. xxxviii. 14. They spake not with that
boldness and plainness which the prophets of the
Lord spake with, but as those who desire to amuse
people rather than to instinct them ; yet there were
those who were so wretchedly sottish as to seek to
them, and to court others to do so, even the prophet’s
hearers, who knew better things, whom therefore the
rophet warns not to say A confederacy with such.
'here were express laws against this wickedness,
(Lev. xix. 31. — xx. 27.) and yet it was found in Is¬
rael, is found even in Christian nations; but let all
that have any sense of religion show it, by startling
at the thought of it; Get thee behind me, Satan.
Dread the use of spells and charms, and consulting
those that by hidden arts pretend to tell fortunes,
cure diseases, or discover things lost; for this is a
heinous crime, and, in effect, denies the God that
is above.
(2.) He furnishes them with an answer to this
temptation, puts words into their mouths: “If any
go about to ensnare you, give them this reply ;
Should not a people seek to their God? What !
for the living to the dead!” [1.] “Tell them it
is a principle of religion, that a people ought to
seek unto their God; now Jehovah is our God, and
therefore to him we ought to seek, and to consult
with him, and not with them that have familiar
spirits. All people will thus walk in the name of
their God, Mic. iv. 5. They that made the hosts
of heaven their gods, sought unto them, Jer. viii. 2.
Should not a people under guilt, and in trouble,
seek to their God for pardon and peace? Should
not a people in doubt, in want, and in danger, seek
to their God for direction, supply, and protection?
Since the Lord is our God, and we are his people,
it is certainly our duty to seek him.” [2.] “Tell
them it is an instance of the greatest fi 11 v in the
world, to seek for living men to dead idols. ’’ What
can be more absurd than to seek to lifeless images
for life and living comforts, or to expect that our
friends that are dead, when we deify them and pray
to them, should do that for us which cur living friends
cannot do? The dead know not any thing, nor is
there with them any dei’ice or working, Ecol. ix.
5, 10. It is folly therefore for the living to make
their court to them, with any expectation of relief
from them. Necromancers consulted the dead, as
the witch of Endor, and so proclaimed their ovn
folly; we must live by the living, and not by the
dead; what life or light can we look for from them
that have no light or life themselves?
(3.) He directs them to consult with the oracles
of God; if the prophets that were among them did
not speak directly to every case, yet they had the
bo
SAIAH, IX.
written word, and to that they must have recourse.
Note, Those will never be drawn to consult wizards,
that know how to make a good use of their Bibles.
Would we know how we may seek to our God, and
co>-'e to the knowledge of liis mind? To the law
and o the testimony. There you will see what is
good, and what the Lord requires of you. Make
God's statutes your counsellors, and you will be
counselled right.
Observe, [1.] What use we must make of the
lnv and the testimony; we must speak according
to that word; we must make this our standard,
conform to it, take advice from it, make our ap-
pea. to it, and in every thing be overruled and de-
termwed by it; consent to those wholesome healing
words, (1 Tim. vi. 3.) and speak of the things of
Go l in the words which the Holy Ghost teaches.
It is not enough to say nothing against it, but we
must speak according to it.
l2.] Why we must make this use of the law and
the testimony; because we shall be convicted of
the greatest folly imaginable if we do not. They
that concur not with the word of God, prove there
is no light, no morning-light, (so the word is,) in
them; they have no right sense of things; they do
not understand themselves, nor the difference be¬
tween good and evil, truth and falsehood. Note,
Those that reject divine revelation, have not so
much as human understanding; nor do they rightly
admit the oracles of reason, who will not admit the
oracles of God. Some read it as a threatening; “ If
they speak not according to this word, there shall
be no light to them, no good, no comfort, or relief;
but they shall be driven to darkness and despair;”
as it follows here, (v. 21, 22.) What light had
Srul when he consulted the witch? 1 Sam. xxviii.
18, 20. Or what light can they expect, that turn
away from the Father of lights?
(4. ) He reads the doom of those that seek to fa¬
miliar spirits, and regard not God’s law and testi¬
mony; there shall not only be no light to them, no
comfort or prosperity, but they may expect all hor¬
ror and misery, v. 21, 22. [1.] The trouble they
feared shall come upon them; they shall pass
through the land, or pass to and fro in the land,
unfixed, unsettled, and driven from place to place
by the threatening power of an invading enemy;
they shall be hardly bestead whither to go for the
necessary supports of life; either because the coun¬
try would be so impoverished, that there would be
nothing to be had, or at least themselves and their
friends so impoverished, that there would be nothing
to be had for them; so that they who used to be fed
to the full shall be hungry. Note. Those that go
away from God, go out of the way of all good. [2. ]
They shall be very uneasy to themselves, by their
discontent and impatience under their trouble. _ A
good man may be in want, but then he quiets him¬
self, and strives to make himself easy; but these
people, when they shall be hungry, shall fret them¬
selves, and when they have nothing to feed on,
their vexation shall prey upon their own spirits; for
fretfulness is a sin that is its own punishment. [3.]
They shall be very provoking to all about them,
triv, to all above them; when they find all their
nv isures broken, and themselves at their wit’s
end, they will forget all the rules of duty and de¬
cency, and will treasonably curse their king, and
blasphemously curse their God; and this more than
in their thought , and in their bed-chamber, Eccl.
x. 20. They begin with cursing their king, for
managing the public affairs no better, as if the fault
were his, when the best and wisest kings cannot
secure success; but when they have broken the
bonds of their allegiance, no marvel if those of their
religion do not hold them long; they next curse
t’.ieir God, curse him, and die; they quarrel with his
providence, and reproach that, as if he had done
them wrong; The foolishness of man perverts his
way, and then his heart frets against the Lord,
Prov. xix. 3. See what need we have to keep our
mouth as with a bridle, when our heart is hot within
us; for the language of fretfulness is commonly
very offensive. [4] They shall abandon them¬
selves to despair, and, which way soever they lock,
shall see no probability of relief; they shall look up¬
ward, but heaven shall frown upon them, and look
gloomy; and how can it be otherwise, when they
curse their God? They shall look to the earth, but
what comfort can that yield to those whom God is
at war with? Thereis nothing there but trouble,
and darkness, and dimness of anguish, every thing
threatening, and not one pleasant gleam, not one
hopeful prospect; but they shall be driven to dark¬
ness by the violence of their own fears, which re
present every thing about them black and frightful.
This explains what he had said, (v. 20.) that there
shall be no light to them. Those that shut their
eves against the light of God’s word, will justly be
abandoned to darkness, and left to wander endless¬
ly, and the sparks of their own kindling will do
them no kindness.
CHAP. IX.
The prophet, in this chapter, (according to the directions
iven him ch. iii. 10, 11.) saith to the righteous, It shall
e well with thee , but Wo to the wicked, it shall be ill
with him . Here are, I. Gracious promises to those
that adhere to the law and to the testimony; while those
that seek to familiar spirits, shall be driven into dark¬
ness and dimness, they shall see a great light, relief in
the midst of their distresses, typical of gospel-grace.
1. In the doctrine of the Messiah, v. 1 . . 3. 2. His vic¬
tories, v. 4, 5. 3. His government and dominion, as
Immanuel, v. 6, 7. II. Dreadful threatenings against
the people of Israel, who had revolted fromj and were
enemies to, the house of David; that they should be
brought to utter ruin, that their pride should bring them
down, ( v. 8 . . 10.) that their neighbours should make a
prey of* them, (v. 11, 12.) that, for their impenitency
and hypocrisy, all their ornaments and supports should
be cut off, (v. 13. . 17.) and that by the wrath of Goa
against them, and their wrath one against another, they
should be brought to utter ruin, v. 18. .21. And this
is typical of the final destruction of all the enemies of
the son of David and his kingdom.
1. '1^'EVERTHELESS, the dimness
.1x1 shall not be such as was in her
vexation, when at the first he lightly afflict¬
ed the land of Zebulun and the land of
Naphtali, and afterward did more griev¬
ously afflict her by the way of the sea, be¬
yond Jordan, in Galilee of the nations.
2. The people that walked in darkness
have seen a great light : they that dwell in
the land of the shadow of death, upon them
hath the light shined. 3. Thou hast multi¬
plied the nation, and not increased the joy:
they joy before thee according to the joy in
harvest, and as men rejoice when they di¬
vide the spoil. 4. For thou hast broken the
yoke of his burden, and the staff of his shoul¬
der, the rod of his oppressor, as in the day
ofMidian. 5. For every battle of the war¬
rior is with confused noise, and garments
rolled in blood ; but this shall be with burn¬
ing and fuel of fire. 6. For unto us a
Child is born, unto us a Son is given ; and
the government shall be upon his shoulder :
i6 1SAI
and his name shall be called Wonderful,
Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlast¬
ing Father, The Prince of Peace. 7. Of the
increase of his government anil peace there
shall be no end, upon the throne of David,
and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to
establish it with judgment and with justice,
from henceforth even for ever. The zeal
of the Lord of hosts will perform this.
The first words of this chapter plainly refer to the
close of the foregoing chapter, where every thing
looked black and melancholy: Behold, trouble, and
darkness, and dimness; very bad, yet not so bad, but
that to the upright there shall arise light in the dark¬
ness, (Ps. cxii. 4.) and at evening-time it shall be
light, Zech. xiv. 7. Nevertheless, it shall not be
such dimness (either not such for kind, or not such
for degree,) as sometimes there has been. Note,
In the worst of times, God’s people have a never¬
theless to comfort themselves with, something to
allay and balance their troubles; they are perse¬
cuted, but not forsaken, (2 Cor. iv. 9.) sorrowful,
yet always rejoicing, 2 Cor. vi. 10. And it is a
matter of comfort to us, when things are at the
darkest, that he who forms the light, and creates
the darkness, ( ch . xlv. 7.) has appointed both their
bounds, and set the one over against the other, Gen.
i. 4. He can say, “ Hitherto the dimness shall go,
so long as it shall last, and no farther, no longer. ”
Three things are here promised, and they all point
ultimately at the grace of the gospel, which the
saints then were to comfort themselves with the
hopes of, in every cloudy and dark day, as we now
are to comfort ourselves, in time of trouble, with
the hopes of Christ’s second coming, though that
be now, as his first coming then was, a thing at a
great distance. The mercy likewise which God
has in store for his church, in the latter days, mav
be a support to those that are mourning with her
for her present calamities. We have here the pro¬
mise,
I. Of a glorious light, which shall so qualify, and
by degrees dispel, the dimness, that it shall hot be,
as it sometimes has been not such as ivas in her
vexation; there shall not be such dark times as
w .re formerly,, when, at first, he lightly afflicted
the land of Zebulun and JVaphtali, which lay re¬
mote, and most exposed to the inroads of the neigh¬
bouring enemies ; and, afterward, he more griev¬
ously afflicted the land by the way of the sea, and
beyond Jordan, ( v . 1.) referring, probably, to those
days when God began to cut Israel short, and to
smite them in all their coasts, 2 Kings x. 32. Note,
1. God tries what lesser judgments will do with a
people, before he brings greater. But, 2. If a light
affliction do not do its work with us, to humble and
reform us, we must expect to be afflicted more
grievously; for when God judges he will overcome.
Well, those were dark times with the land of
Zebulun and Naphtali, and there was dimness of
anguish in Galilee of the Gentiles, both in respect of
ignorance, (they did not speak according to the laiu
and testimony, and then there was no light in them,
ch. viii. 20.) and in respect of trouble and the des-
erate posture of their outward affairs; we have
oth together, 2. Chron. xv. 3, 5. Israel has been
without the true God and a teaching priest, and in
those times there was no peace: but the dimn»ss
threatened (ch. viii. 22.) shall not prevail to such
a degree; for, (t>. 2.) The people that walked in
darkness have seen a great light. (1.) At this time,
when the prophet lived, there were manv prophets
in Judah and Isnel, whose prophecies were a great
light both for direction and comfort to the people
lH, IX.
of God, who adhered to the law and the testimony;
beside the written word, thev had prophecy; there
were those that had showed them how I ng, (Ps.
lxxiv. 9.) which was a great satisfaction tc them,
when, in respect of their outward troubles, they
sat in darkness, and dwelt in the land of the shadow
of death. (2.) This was to have its full accom¬
plishment when our Lord Jesus began to appear as
a Prophet, and to preach the gospel in the land of
Zebulun and Naphtali, and in Galilee of the Gen¬
tiles. And the Old Testament prophets, as they
were witnesses to him, so they were types of him.
When he came, and dwelt in the borders of Zebu¬
lun and Naphtali, then this prophecy is said to be
fulfilled, Matth. iv. 13 — 16. Note, [1.] Those
that want the gospel, walk in darkness, and know
not what they do, or whither they go; and they
dwell in the land of the shadow of 'death, in thick
darkness, and in the utmost danger. [2.] When
the gospel comes to any place, to any soul, light
comes, a great light, a shining light, ' which will
shine more and more. It should be welcome to us,
as light is to them that sit in darkness, and we
should readily entertain it, both because it is of
such sovereign use to us, and brings its own evi
dence with it. Truly this light is sweet.
II. Of a glorious increase, and an universal joy
arising from it; (d. 3.) “ Thou, O God, hast mul
tiplied the nation, the Jewish nation, which thou
hast mercy in store for; though it has been dimin¬
ished by one sore judgment after another, yet now
thou hast begun to multiply it again.” The num¬
bers of a nation are its strength and wealth, if the
numerous be industrious; and it is God that in¬
creases nations, Job xii. 23. Yet it follows, “ Thou
hast not increased the joy; the carnal joy and mirth,
and those things that are commonly the matter and
occasion of that; but, notwithstanding that, they
joy before thee, there is a great deal of serious spi¬
ritual joy among them, joy in the presence of God,
with an" eye to him.” This is verv applicable to
the times of gospel-light, spoken of, v. 2. Then
God multiplied the nation, the gospel-Israel. “ And
to him” (so the Masorites read it) “ thou hast mag¬
nified the joy, to every one that receives the light!”
The following words favour this reading; thev joy
before thee; they come before thee in holy ordi¬
nances with great joy; their mirth is net like that
of Israel, under their vines and fig-trees, (thou hast
not increased that joy,) but it is in the favour of God
and in the tokens of his grace.” Note, The gospel,
when it comes in its light and power, brings joy
along with it, and those who receive it aright, there¬
in do rejoice, yea, and will rejoice; therefore the
conversion of the nations is prophesied of by this,
Ps. lxvii. 4. Let the nations be glad, and sing for
joy, Ps. xevi. 11. 1. It is holy joy: “They joy be¬
fore thee;” they rejoice in spirit, (as Christ did,
Luke x. 21.) and that is before God. In the eve
of the world, they are always as sorrowful, and ye t,
in God’s sight, always rejoicing, 2 Cor. vi. 10. ' 2.
It is great joy, it is according to the joy in harvest,
when those who sowed in tears, and have with long
patience waited for the precious fruits of the earth,
reap in joy; and as in war, men rejoice, when, after
a hazardous battle, they divide the spoil. The grs-
pel brings with it plenty and victory; but those that
would hat e joy of it, must expect to go through a
hard work, as the husbandman, before he has the
joy of harvest, and a hard conflict, as the soldier,
before he has the Joy of dividing the spoil; but the
joy, when it comes, will be an abundant recom
pense for the toil. See Acts viii. 8, 39.
III. Of a glorious liberty and enlargement; (r.
4,5.) “They shall rejoice before thee, and with
good reason, for thou hast broken the yoke of his
burthen, and made him easy, for he shall no longer
ISAIAH, IX.
t>7
be in servitude, and thou hast broken the stuff of
his shoulder, and the rod of his oppressor, that red
of the wicked which rested long on the lot of the
righteous;” as the Midi-unites’ yoke was broken
from off the neck of Israel by the agency of Gideon.
If Gad makes former deliverances his patterns in
working tor us, we ought to make them our en¬
couragements to hope in him, and to seek to him;
(Ps. lxxxiii. 9.) Do unto them as to the Midian-
iles. What temporal deliverance this refers to, is
not clear, probably, the preventing of Sennacherib
from making himself master of Jerusalem, which
was done, as in the day of Midian, by the imme¬
diate hand of God; and whereas other battles were
usually won with a great deal of noise, and by the
expense of much blood, this shall be done silently
and without noise; Under his g'ory God shall kin¬
dle a burning; (ch. x. 16.) a fire not blown shall
consume him, Job xx. 26. But doubt'iess it looks
further, to the blessed fruits and effects of that
great light which should visit them that sat in dark¬
ness; it would bring liberty along with it, deliver¬
ance to the ca/itives, Luke iv. 18. 1. The design
of the gospel, and the grace of it, is, to break the
yoke of sin and Satan, to remove the burthen of
guilt and corruption, and to free us from the rod
of those oppressors, that we might be brought into
the glorious liberty of the children of God. Christ
brake the yoke of the ceremonial law, (Acts xv.
10. Gal. v. 1.) and delivered us out of the hands
of our enemies, that we might serve him without
far, Luke i. 74, 75. 7- This is done by the Spirit
working like fire, (Matth. iii. 11.) not as the battle
of the warrior is fought, with confused noise; no,
the weapons of our warfare are not carnal; but it is
done with the spirit of judgment and the spirit of
burning, ch. iv. 4. It is done as in the day of Mi¬
dian, bv a work of God upon the hearts of men.
Christ is our Gideon; it is his sword that doeth
wonders.
But who, where is he that shall undertake and
accomplish these great things for the church? He
tells us, (t>. 6, 7.) they shall be done by the Messi¬
ah, Immanuel, that son of a virgin, whose birth he
had foretold, (ch. vii. 14. ) and now speaks of, in the
rophetic style, as a thing already done: the Child is
om; not only because it was as certain, and lie was
as certain of it, as if it had been done already; but
because the church, before his incarnation, reaped
great benefit and advantage by his undertaking in
the virtue of that first promise concerning the Seed
of the woman, Gen. iii. 15. As he was the Lamb
slain, so he was the Child bom, from the founda¬
tion of the world, Rev. xiii. 8. All the great things
that God did for the Old Testament church, were
done bv him as the eternal Word, and for his sake
as the Mediator. He was the Anointed, to whom
God had respect, (Ps. lxxxiv. 9.) and it was for the
Lord’s sake, for the Lord Christ’s sake, that God
caused his face to shine upon his sanctuary, Dan.
ix. 17. Therefore the Jewish nation, and particu¬
larly the house of David, were preserved many a
time from imminent ruin, because that blessing was
in them. What greater security therefore could be
given to the church of God then, that it should be
preserved, and be the special care of Divine Provi¬
dence, than this, that God had so great a mercy in
res Tve for it? The Chaldee Paraphrase understands
it of the Man that shall endure for ever, even Christ.
And it is an illustrious prophecy of him and of his
kingdom, which doubtless they that waited for the
consolation of Israel built much upon, often turned
tA, and read with pleasure.
(1.) See him in his humiliation; the same that is
th ■ mighty God, is a Child boro; the Ancient of
I) tvs becomes the Infant of a span long; the ever-
1 .sthig Father is a Son given. Such was his conde- '
Vox., iv -P
scension in taking our nature upon him; thus did he
humble and empty himself, to exalt and fill us. He
is bom into our world; the I l ord was made flesh,
and dwelt among us. He is given, freely given, to
be all that to us, which our case, in our fallen state,
c dls for; God so loved the world, .that he gave him.
He is born to us, he is given to us, us men, and not
to the angels that sinned; it is spoken with an air
of triumph, and the angel seems to refer to these
words in the notice he gives to the shepherds of the
Messiah’s being come; (Luke ii. 11.) unto you is
bom, this day, a Saviour. Note, Christ’s being
born and giv en to us, is the great foundation of our
hopes, and fountain of our joys, in times of greatest
grief and fear.
(2.) See him in his exaltation; this Child, this
Son, this Son of God, this Son of man, that is given
to us, in a capacity to do us a great deal of kind¬
ness; for he is invested with the highest honour and
power, so that we cannot but be happy if he be our
Friend.
[1.] See the dignity he is advanced to, and the
name he has above every name. He shall be called
(and therefore we are sure he is, and shall be,)
Wonderful, Counsellor, &c. His people shall know
him, and worship him, by these names; and as one
that fully answers them, they shall submit to him,
and depend upon him.
First, He is Wonderful, Counsellor. Justly he is
called Wonderful, for he is both God and man.
His love is the wonder of angels and glorified saints;
in his birth, life, death, resurrection, and ascension,
he was wonderful. A constant series of wonders
attended him, and, without controversy, great was
the mystery of godliness concerning him. He is the
Counsellor, for he was intimately acquainted with
the counsels of God from eternity, and he gives
counsel to the children of men, in which he consults
our welfare. It is by him that God has given us
counsel, Ps. xvi. 7. Rev. iii. 18. He is the vVisdcm
of the Father, and is made of God to us Wisdom.
Some join these together; He is the Wonderful
Counsellor, a wonder or miracle of a counsellor; in
this, as in other things, he has the pre-eminence;
none teaches like him.
Secondly, He is the mighty God; God, the mighty
One. As he has wisdom, so he has strength, to go
through with his undertaking; he is able to save to
the utmost; and such is the work of the Mediator,
that no less a power than that of the mighty God
could accomplish it.
Thirdly, He is the everlasting Father, or the Fa¬
ther of eternity; he is God, one with the Father,
who is from everlasting to everlasting. His fatherly
care of his people and tenderness toward them are
everlasting. He is the Author of everlasting life
and tenderness to them, and so is the Father of a
blessed eternity to them. He is the Father of the
world to come; so the LXX read it; the Father of
the gospel-state, which is put in subjection to him,
not to the angels, Heb. ii. 5. He was, from eternity,
Father of the great work of Redemption: his heart
was upon it; it was the product of his wisdem, as
the Counsellor; of his love, as the everlasting Fa
ther.
Fourthly, He is the Prince of Peace; as a King,
he preserves the peace, commands peace, nay, he
creates peace, in his kingdom. He is cur Peace,
and it is his peace that both keeps the hearts < f his
people, and rules in them. He is not only a peace¬
able Prince, and his reign peaceable, but he is the
Author and Giver of all good, all that peace which
is the present and future bliss of Lis subjects.
[2.] See the dominion he is advanced to, and the
throne he has, above every throne; (v. 6.) The go¬
vernment shall be u/ion his shoulder; his only: he
shall not only wear *ht badge cf it upon his
58
ISAIAH, IX.
•shoulder, (the key of the house of David, ch. xxii.
'22.; out he shall bear the burthen of it. The Fa¬
ther shall devolve it upon him, so that he shall have
an incontestable right to govern; and he shall un¬
dertake it, so that ■-» doubt can be made of his go¬
verning well, for lie shall set his shoulder to it, and
will never complain, as Moses did, of his being over¬
charged; lam not able to bear all this fieofile.
Numb. xi. 11, 14.
Glorious things are here spoken of Christ’s go¬
vernment, v. 7.
First, That it shall be an increasing government;
it shall be multiplied, the bounds of his kingdom
shall be more and more enlarged, and many shall
be added to it daily; the lustre of it shall increase,
and it shall shine more and more brightly in the
world. The monarchies of the earth were each less
illustrious than the other; so that what began in
gold ended in iron and clay, and every monarchy
dwindled by degrees: but the kingdom of Christ is
a growing kingdom, and will come to perfection at
last.
Secondly, That it shall be a peaceable govern¬
ment, agreeable to his character as the Prince of
Peace: he shall rule by love, shall rule in men’s
hearts; so that wherever his government is, there
shall be peace; and as his government increases,
the peace shall increase; the more we are subject
to Christ, the more easy and safe we are.
Thirdly, That it shall be a rightful government;
he that is the Son of David, shall reign upon the
throne of David, and over his kingdom, which he is
entitled to; God shall give him the throne of his fa¬
ther David, Luke i. 32, 33. The gospel-church, in
which Jew and Gentile are incorporated, is the holy
hill of Zion, on which Christ reigns, Ps. ii. 6.
Fourthly, That it shall be administered with pru¬
dence and equity, and so as to answer the great end
of government, which is the establishment of the
kingdom; he shall order it, and settle it, with jus¬
tice and judgment; every thing is, and shall be, well
managed, in the kingdom of Chi'ist, and none of his
subjects shall ever have cause to complain.
Fifthly, That it shall be an everlasting kingdom ;
here shall be no end of the increase of his govern-
nent, it shall be still growing; no end of the in-
.rease of the peace of it, for the happiness of the
•ubjects of this kingdom shall last to eternity, and
■ erhaps shall be progressive in infinitum — for ever.
He shall reign from henceforth even for ever; not
only throughout all generations of time, but even
then when the kingdom shall be delivered up to
God, even the Father, the glory both of the Re¬
deemer and the redeemed shall continue eternally.
Lastly, That God himself has undertaken to bring
all this about; The Lord of hosts, who has all power
in his hand, and all creatures at his beck, shall per¬
form this, shall preserve the throne of David till
this Prince of peace is settled in it; his zeal shall
do it; his jealousy for his own honour, and the truth
ofhis promise, and the good of his church. Note,
The heart of God is much upon the advancement
of the kingdom of Christ among men; which is very
comfortable to all those that wish well to it; the
zeal of the Lord of hosts will overcome all opposi¬
tion.
8. The Lord sent a word into Jacob,
and it hath lighted upon Israel. 9. And all
the people shall know, even Ephraim and
the inhabitants of Samaria, that say in
the pride and stoutness of heart, 10. The
bricks are fallen down, but we will build
with hewn stones; the sycamores are cut
down, but we will change them into cedars.
11. Therefore the Lord shall set up the
adversaries of liezin against him, and join
his enemies together; 12. The Syrians be¬
fore, and the Philistines behind ; and they
shall devour Israel with open mouth. For
all this his anger is not turned away, but his
hand is stretched out still. 13. For the peo¬
ple turneth not unto him that smiteth them,
neither do they seek the Lord of hosts. 1 4.
Therefore the Lord will cut off from Isiael
head and tail, branch and rush, in one day.
15. The ancient and honourable, he is the
head; and the prophet that teacheth lies, he
is the tail. 1 6. F or the leaders of this peo¬
ple cause them to err; and they that arc led
of them are destroyed. 17. Therefore the
Lord shall have no joy in their young men,
neither shall have mercy on their fatherless
and widows: for every one is a hypocrite
and an evil-doer, and every mouth speaketh
folly. For all this his anger is not turned
away, but his hand is stretched out still.
18. For wickedness burneth as the fire:
it shall devour the briers and thorns, and
shall kindle in the thickets of the forest;
and they shall mount up like the lifting up
of smoke. 19. Through the wrath of the
Lord of hosts is the land darkened, and the
people shall be as the fuel of the fire: no
man shall spare his brother. 20. And he
shall snatch on the right hand, and be hun¬
gry; and he shall eat on the left hand, and
they shall not be satisfied: they shall eat
eveiy man the flesh of his own arm : 21.
Manasseh, Ephraim; and Ephraim, Ma-
nasseh : and they together shall he against
Judah. For this his anger is not turned
away, but his hand is stretched out still.
Here are terrible threatenings, which are directed
primarily against Israel, the kingdom of the ten
tribes, Ephraim and Samaria, the ruin of which is
here foretold, with all the woful confusions that were
the prefaces to that ruin, all which came to pass
within a few years after; but they look further, to
all the enemies of the throne and kingdom of Christ
the Son of David, and read the doom of all nations
that forget God, and will not have Christ to reign
over them. Observe,
I. The preface to this prediction; (v. 8.) The
Lord sent a word into Jacob; sent it by his servants
the prophets; he warns before he wounds; he sent
notice what he would do, that they might meet him
in the wav of his judgments, but they would not
take the hint, took no care to turn away his wrath,
and so it lighted upon Israel; for no word of God
shall fall to the ground. It fell upon them as a
storm of rain and hail from on high, which they
could not avoid. “ It has lighted ufion them; it is
as sure to come as if it were come already ; and all
the people shall know bv feeling it, what they would
not know by hearing of it. ” Those that are wil¬
lingly ignorant of the wrath of God revealed from
heaven against sin and sinners, shall be made to
know it.
II. The sins charged upon the people of Israel,
59
ISAIAH, IX.
Which provoked God to bring these judgments upon
them.
]. Their insolent defiance of the justice of God,
thinking themselves a match for him; They say , in
the pride and stoutness of their heart, “ Let God
himself do his worst, we will hold our own, and
make our part good with him; if he ruin our houses,
we will repair them, and make them stronger and
finer than they were before; our Landlord shall not
turn us out of doors, though we pay him no rent,
but we will keep in possession. It the houses that
were built of bricks, be demolished in the war, we
will rebuild them with hewn stones, that shall not so
easily be thrown down. If the enemy cut down the
svcamores, we will plant cedars in the room of them.
VVe will make a hand of God’s judgments, gain by
them, and so outbrave them.” Note, Those are
ripening apace for ruin, whose hearts are unhum¬
bled under humbling providences; for God will
walk contrary to those who thus walk contrary to
him, and provoke him to jealousy, as if they were
stronger than he.
2. Their incorrigibleness under all the rebukes
of Providence hitherto; (v. 13.) The people turn
not unto him that smites them; they are not wrought
upon to reform their lives, to forsake their sins, and
to return to their duty; neither do they seek the Lord
of hosts; either they are atheists, and have no reli¬
gion, or idolaters, and seek to those gods that are
the creatures of their own fancy, and the works of
their own hands. Note, That which God designs,
in smiting us, is, to turn us to himself, and to set us a
seeking him; and if this point be not gained by lesser
judgments, greater may be expected. God smites,
that he may not kill.
3. Their general corruption of manners and
abounding profaneness. (1.) Those that should
have reformed them, helped to debauch them; ( v .
16.) The leaders of this people mislead them, and
cause them to err, by conniving at their wicked¬
ness, and countenancing wicked people, and by set¬
ting them bad examples; and then no wonder if
they that are led of them be deceived, and so destroy¬
ed; but it is ill with a people when their physicians
are their worst disease. They that bless this fieople,
or call them blessed, (so the margin reads it,) that
flatter them, and soothe them up in their wicked¬
ness, and cry Peace, peace, to them, they cause them
to err; and they that are called blessed of them, are
swallowed up ere they are aware. We have reason
to be afraid of those that speak well of us when we
do ill; see Prov. xxiv. 24. — xxix. 5. (2.) Wicked¬
ness was universal, and all were infected with it;
v. 17.) Every one is a hypocrite and evil-doer.
f there be any that are good, they do not, they dare
not, appear; for every mouth speaks folly and vil-
lany; every one is profane toward God, (so the word
properly signifies,) and an evil-doer toward man;
these two commonly go together; they that fear not
God, regard not man; and then every mouth speaks
folly, falsehood, and reproach, both against God
and man; for out of the abundance of the heart the
mouth speaks.
III. The judgments threatened against them for
this wickedness of theirs; let them not think to go
unpunished.
1. In general, hereby they exposed themselves to
the wrath of God, which should both devour as fire,
and darken as smoke. (1.) It should devour as fire;
( v . 18. ) Wickedness shall burn as the fire; the dis¬
pleasure of God, incurred by sin, shall consume the
sinners, who have made themselves as briers and
thorns before it, and as the thickets of the forest;
combustible matter, which the wrath of the Lord
of hosts, the mighty God, will go through, and bum
together. (2.) It should darken as smoke; the
briers and thorns, when the fire consumes them,
shall mount up like the lifting up of smoke, so that
the whole land shall be darkened by it; they shell
be in trouble, and see no way out; (v. 19.) Tie
people shall be as the fuel of the fire. God’s wratf
fastens upon none but those that make themselvtt
fuel for it, and then they mount up as the smoke ( f
sacrifices, being made victims to divine justice.
2. God would arm the neighbouring powers
against them, v. 11, 12. At this time, the kingdom
of Israel was in league with that of Syria against
Judah; but the Assyrians, who were adversaries to
the Syrians, when they had conquered them, should
invade Israel; and God will stir them up to do it,
and join the enemies of Israel together in alliance
against them, who yet have particular ends of their
own to serve, ;ind are not aware of God’s hand in
their alliance. Note, (1.) When enemies are set
up, and joined in confederacy against a people, God’s
hand must be acknowledged in it. (2.) Those that
partake with each other in sin, as Syria and Israel
in invading Judah, must expect to share in the pu¬
nishment of sin. Nay, the Syrians themselves,
whom they were now in league with, should be a
scourge to them, (for it is no unusual thing for those
to fall out, that have been united in sin,) they be¬
fore, and the Philistines behind; one attacking them
in the front, the other flanking them, or falling upon
their rear; so that they should be surrounded with
enemies on all sides, who should devour them with
open mouth, v. 12. The Philistines were not now
looked upon as formidable enemies, and the Syrians
were looked upon as fast friends; and yet these shall
devour Israel. When men’s ways displease the
Lord, he makes even their friends to be at war with
them.
3. God would take from the midst of them those
they confided in, and promised themselves help
from, v. 14, 15. Because the people seek not God,
those they seek to, and depend upon, shall stand
them in no stead. The Lord will cut off head and
tail, branch and rush, which is explained in the
next verse. (1.) Their magistrates, that were ho¬
nourable by birth and office, and were the ancients
of the people, these were the head, these were the
branch which they promised themselves spirit and
fruit from; but because these caused them to err,
they shall be cut off, and their dignity and power
shall be no protection to them, when the abuse of
that dignity and power was the great provocation :
it was a judgment upon the people to have their
princes cut off, though they were not such as they
should be. (2.) Their prophets, their false pro¬
phets, were the tail and the rush, the most despica¬
ble of all others. A wicked minister is the worst
of men; Corruptio optimi est pessima — That which
is best, proves, when corrupted , to be the worst.
The blind led the blind, and so both fell into the
ditch; and the blind leaders fell first, and fell unde) -
most.
4. That the desolation should be as general as the
corruption had been, and none should escape it, v.
17. (1.) Not those that were the objects of com¬
placency: none shall be spared for love: The Lord
shall have no joy in their young men, that were in
the flower of their youth; nor will he say, Deal
gently with the young men for my sake; no, “ Let
them fall with the rest, and with them let the seed
of the next generation perish.” (2.) Not these that
were the objects of compassion; none shall be spared
for pity ; He shall not have mercy on the fatherless
and widows, though he is, in a particular manner,
their Patron and Protector: they had corrupted
their way like all the rest; and if the poverty and
helplessness of their state was not an argument with
them to keep them from sin, they could not expect
it should be an argument with God to protect tl era
from judgments.
CO
ISAIAH, X.
5. That they should pull one another to pieces,
and every one should help forward the common
ruin, and they should be cannibals to themselves
and one another; JVb man shall spare his brother , if
he come in the way of his ambition or covetousness,
or if he have any colour to be revenged on him; and
how can they expect God should spare them, when
they show no compassion one to another? Men’s
passion and cruelty one against another provoke
God to be angry with them all, and are an evidence
that he is so. Civil wars soon bring a kingdom to
desolation; such there were in Israel, when, for the
transgression of the land, many were the princes
thereof Prov. xxviii. 2. In these intestine broils,
men snatched on the right hand and yet were hun¬
gry still, and did eat the flesh of their own arm,
preyed upon themselves for hunger, or upon their
nearest relations that were as their own flesh, v. 20.
This bespeaks, (1.) Great famine and scarcity;
when men had pulled all they could to them, it was
so little, that they were still hungry, at least God
did not bless it to them; so that they eat and have
not enough, Haggai i. 6. (2.) Great rapine and
plunder; Jusque datum sceleri — Iniquity is estab¬
lished by law. The hedge of property, "which is a
hedge of protection to men’s estates, shall be pluck¬
ed up, and every man shall think all that his own
which he can lay his hands on; Vivitur etc rapto;
non hos/ies ab hospite tutus — They live on the spoil,
and the rites of hospitality are all violated. And
yet when men thus catch at that which is none of
their own, they are not satisfied. Covetous desires
are insatiable, and this curse is entailed on that
which is ill got, that it will never do well.
These intestine broils should be not only among
particular persons and private families, but among
tlie tribes; {v. 21.) Manasseh shall devour Ephraim,
and Ephraim, Manasseh, though they be combined
against Judah. They that could unite against Ju¬
dah, could not unite with one another; but that
sinful confederacy of theirs against their neighbour
that dwelt securely by them, was justly punished by
this separation of them one from another. Or, Ju¬
dah having sinned like Manasseh and Ephraim,
shall not only suffer with them, but suffer by them.
Note, Mutual enmity and animosity among the tribes
of God’s Israel, is a sin that ripens them for ruin,
and a sad symptom of ruin hastening on apace. If
Ephraim be against Manasseh, and Manasseh
against Ephraim, and both against Judah, they will
all soon become a very easy prey to the common
enerav.
6. That though they should be followed with all
those judgments, yet God would not let fall his con¬
troversy with them. It is the heavy burthen of
this song; (v. 12, 17, 21.) For all this, his anger is
not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still;
(1.) They do nothing to turn away his anger; they
do not repent and reform, they do not humble them¬
selves and pray; none stand in the gap, none answer
God’s calls, nor comply with the designs of his pro¬
vidences, but they are hardened and secure. (2. )
His anger therefore continues to burn against them,
and his hand is stretched out still. The reason why
the judgments of God are prolonged, is, because the
point is not gained, sinners are not brought to re¬
pentance by them; the people turn not to him that
“ mites them, and therefore he continues to smite
them; for when God judges, he will overcome; and
the proudest, stoutest sinner shall either bend or
break.
CHAP. X.
Thepi-ophet, in this chapter, is dealing, I. With the proud
oppressors of his people at home, that abused their pow¬
er, to pervert justice, whom he would reckon with for
their tyranny, v. 1..4. If. With a threatening invnder
of bis people from abroad, Sennacherib king of Assyria;
concerning whom, observe, 1. The commission given
him to invade Judah, v. 6, 6. 2. His pride and insolence
in the execution of that commission, v. 7.. 11, 13 14.
3. A rebuke given to his haughtiness, and a threatening
of his fall arid ruin, when he had served the purposes for
which God raised him up, v. 12, 15 . . 19. 4. A promise
of grace to the people of God, to enable them to bear up
under the affliction, and to get good bv it, v. 20 . . 23. 5.
Great encouragement given to them not to fear this
threatening storm, but to hope that, though for the pre¬
sent all the country was put into a great consternation
by it, it would end well, in the destruction of this formi¬
dable enemy, v. 24 . . 34. And this is intended to quiet
the minds of good people, in reference to all the threat¬
ening efforts of the wrath of the church’s enemies : if God
be for us, who can be against us? None to do us any
harm.
1. \ VX-* unto them that decree unright-
T T eous decrees, and that write gi iev-
ousness which they have prescribed: 2. To
turn aside the needy from judgment, and to
take away the right from the poor of my
people, that widows may be their prey, and
that they may rob the fatherless! 3. And
what will ye do in the day of visitation, and
in the desolation which shall come from far ?
to whom will ye flee for help ? and where
will ye leave your glory ? 4. Without me
they shall bow down under the prisoners,
and they shall fall under the slain. For all
this his anger is not turned away, but his
hand is stretched out still.
Whether they were the princes and judges of Is¬
rael, or Judah, or both, that this prophet denounced
this wo against, is not certain: if those of Israel,
these verses are to be joined with the close of tin-
foregoing chapter; which is probable enrugh, be¬
cause the burthen of that prophecy {For all this, his
anger is not. turned away) is repeated here, i>. 4*
If those of Judah, they then show what was the par¬
ticular sin for which God brought the Assyrian
army upon them — to punish their magistrates fi 1
mal-administration, which they could not legally be
called to account for. To them he speaks wots,
before he speaks comfort to God’s own people.
Here is, 1. The indictment drawn up against
these oppressors, v. 1, 2. They are charged, (1.)
With making wicked laws and edicts: they decree
unrighteous decrees, contrary to natural equity and
the law of God; and what mischiefs they prescribe,
those under them write it, enrol it, and put it into
the formality of a law. Wo to the superior powers
that devise and decree these decrees! They are not
too high to be under the divine check. And wo to
the inferior officers that draw them up, and enter
them upon record! They are not too mean to be
within the divine cognizance; the writers that write
the grievousness, principal and accessaries, shall
fall under the same wo. Note, It is bad to do hurt,
but it is worse to do it with design and deliberation,
to do wrong to many, and to involve many in the
guilt of doing wrong. (2.) With perverting justice
in the execution of the laws that were made: no
people had statutes and judgments so righteous as
they had; and yet corrupt judges found ways to turn
aside the needy from judgment, to hinder them from
coming at their right, and recovering what was
their due, because they were needy and poor, and
such as they could get nothing by, nor expect any
bribes from. (3.) With enriching themselves by
oppressing those that lav at their mercy, whom they
ought to have protected: they make widows’ houses
and estates their prev, and they rob the fatherless
of the little that is left them, because they have no
friend to appear for them. Not to relieve them if
63
ISAIAH, X.
thev had wanted, net to right them if they were
wronged, had been crime enough in men that had
wealth and power; but to rob them because on the
side of the oppressors there was power, and the op¬
pressed had no comforter, (Eccl. iv. 1.) is such a
piece of barbarity, as one would think, none could
ever be guilty of, that had either the nature of a
man, or tlie name of an Israelite.
2. A challenge given them with all their pride
and power to outface the judgments of God; (v. 3.)
“II hat wilt ye do l To whom will ye Jlee? You can
tr mpk upon the widows and fatherless; but what
•will ye do when God riseth up?” Job xxxi. 14.
Great men, who tyrannize over the poor, think they
sh .11 never be called to account for it, shall never
hear of it again, or fare the worse for it; but shall
not God visit for these things? Jer. v. 29. Will
there not come a desolation upon those that have
made others desolate? Perhaps it may come from
far, and therefore may be long in coming; but it will
come at last; reprieves are not pardons; and, com¬
ing from far, from a quarter whence it was least
expected, it will be the greater surprise, and the
more terrible. Now what will then become of these
unrighteous judges? Now they see their help in the
ate. Job xxxi. 21. But to whom will they then
ee for help? Note, ( 1. ) There is a day of visitation
coming, a day of inquiry and discovery, a searching
day, which will bring to light, to a true light, every
man, and every man’s work. (2.) The day of vi¬
sitation will be a day of desolation to all wicked peo¬
ple, when all their comforts and hopes will be lost
and gone, and buried in ruin, and themselves left
desolate. (3. ) Impenitent sinners will be utterly at
a loss, and will not know what to do in the day of
visitation and desolation. They cannot fly and hide
themselves, cannot fight it out and defend them¬
selves; they have no refuge in which either to shel¬
ter themselves from the present evil, (To whom
will ye Jlee for help?) or to secure to themselves
better times hereafter; “ Where will you leave your
glory, to find it again when the storm is over?” The
wealth they had got was their glory, and they had
no place of safety in which to deposit that, but they
should certainly see it flee away. If our souls be
our glory, as they ought to be, and we make them
our chief care, we know where to leave them, and
into whose hands to commit them, even those of a
faithful Creator. (4.) It concerns us all seriously
to consider what we shall do in the day of visitation,
in a day of affliction, in the day of death and judg¬
ment, and to provide that we may do well.
3. Sentence passed upon them, by which they are
doomed, some to imprisonment and captivity; They
shall bow down among the prisoners, or under them:
those that were most highly elevated in sin, shall
be most heavily loaded, and most deeply sunk in
trouble; others to death, they shall fall first, and so
shall fall under the rest of the slain; they that hod
trampled upon the widows and fatherless, sh ill
themselves be trodden down: (p>. 4.) “ This it will
come to,” says God, “ without me; because you
have deserted me, and driven me away from you.”
Nothing but utter nun can be expected by those
that live without God in the world; that cast him
behind their back, and so cast themselves out of his
protection.
And yet, for all this, his anger is not turned away;
which intimates not only that God will proceed in
his controversy with them, but that they shall be
in a continual dread of it; they shall, to their un¬
speakable terror, see his hand still stretched out
against them, and there shall remain nothing but a
fearful looking-for of judgment.
5. O Assyrian, the rod of mine anger, and
(he staff in their hand is mine indignation.
'6. I will send him against a hypocritical
nation, and against the people of my vviatli
will -I give him a charge, to take the spoil,
and to take the prey, and to tread them
down like the mire of the streets. 7. How
beit he meaneth not so, neither doth his
heart think so; but it is in bis heart to de¬
stroy and cut off nations not a few. 8. For
he saith, Are not my princes altogethei
kings? 9. Is not Calno as Carchemish ? is
not Hamath as Arpad ? is not Samaria as
Damascus? 10. As my hand hath found
the kingdoms of the idols, ami whose graven
images did excel them of Jerusalem and ot
Samaria; 11. Shall I not, as 1 have done
unto Samaria and her idols, so do to Jerusa¬
lem and her idols? 12. Wherefore it shall
come to pass, that, when the Lord hath
performed his whole work upon mount Zion
and on Jerusalem, I will punish the fruit of
the stout heart of the king of Assyria, and
the glory of his high looks. 1 3. For he saith,
By the strength of my hand I have done it,
and by my wisdom; for I am prudent: and
I have removed the bounds of the people,
and have robbed their treasures, and 1 have,
put down the inhabitants like a valiant man:
14. And my hand hath found, as a nest, t he
riches of the people: and as one gatheieth
eggs that are left, have I gathered all the
earth; and there was none that moved the
wing, or opened the mouth, or peeped. 15.
Shall the axe boast itself against him that
heweth therewith ? or shall the saw magnify
itself against him that shaketh it ? as if the
rod should shake itself against them that
lift it up, or as if the staff should lift up itself
as if it were no wood. 16. Therefore shall
the Lord, the Lord of hosts, send among
his fat ones leanness; and under his glory
he shall kindle a burning like tbe burning
of a fire. 17. And the light of Israel shall
be for a fire, and his Holy One for a flam; :
and it shall burn and devour his thorns and
his briers in one day; 18. And shall con¬
sume the glory of his forest, and of his fruit-
fid field, both soul and body : and they shall
be as when a standard-bearer fainteth. 1 9.
And the rest of the trees of his forest shall
be few, that a child may write them.
The destruction of the kingdom of Israel by Shal¬
maneser, king of Assyria, was foretold in the fore¬
going chapter, and it had its accomplishment in
the sixth vear of Hezekiah, 2 Kings xviii. 10. It
was total 'and final, head and tail were all cut off.
Now the correction of the kingdom of Judah by
Sennacherib, king of Assyria, is foretold in this
i chapter; and this prediction was fulfilled in the
fourteenth year of Hezekiah, when that potent
prince, encouraged by the successes of his prede¬
cessor against the ten tribes, came up against -t//
the fenced cities of Judah , and took them , and
G-2 ISAIAH, X.
laid siege to Jerusalem, (2 King xviii. 13.) in con¬
sequence of which, we may well suppose Hezekiah
and his kingdom were greatly alarmed, though
there was a good work of reformation lately begun
among them: but it ended well, in the confusion of
the Assyrians, and the great encouragement of He¬
zekiah and his people in their return to God.
Now let us see here,
I. How God, in his sovereignty, deputed the king
of Assyria to be his servant, and made use of him
as a mere tool to serve his own purposes with; (x>. 5,
f>. ) “ O Assyrian, know this, that thou art the rod of
mine anger; and I will send thee to be a scourge to
the people of my •wrath.” Observe here, 1. How
bad the character of the Jews is, though they ap¬
peared very good; they are a hypocritical nation,
that made a profession of religion, and, at this time
particularly, of reformation, but were not truly re¬
ligious, not truly reformed, not so good as they pre¬
tended to be, now that Hezekiah had brought good¬
ness into fashion. When rulers are pious, and so re¬
ligion is in reputation, it is common for nations to be
hypocritical; they are a profane nation; so some read
it. Hezekiah had in a great measure cured them
of their idolatry, and now they run into prof ane-
ness; nay, hypocrisy is profaneness: none profane
the name of God so much as those who are called
by that name, and call upon it, and yet live in sin.
Being a profane hypocritical nation, they are the
people of God’s wrath; they lie under his wrath,
and are likely to be consumed by it. Note, Hypocri¬
tical nations are the people of God’s wrath: nothing
is more offensive to God than dissimulation in re¬
ligion. See what a change sin made: they that had
been God’s chosen and hallowed people, above all,
were now become the people of his wrath, See
Amos iii. 2. 2. How mean the character of the As¬
syrian is, though he appeared very great; he is but
the rod of God’s anger, an instrument God is pleas¬
ed to make use of for the chastening of his people,
that, being thus chastened of the Lord, they may
not be condemned with the world. Note, The ty¬
rants of the world are but tools of Providence. Men
are God’s hand, his sword sometimes, to kill and
slay, Ps. xvii. 13, 14. At other times, they are his
rod to correct. The staff in their hand, wherewith
thev smite his people, is his indignation; it is his
wrath that puts the staff into their hand, and ena¬
bles them to deal blows at pleasure among such as
thought themselves a match for them. Sometimes
God makes an idolatrous nation, that serves him not
at all, a scourge to an hypocritical nation, that serves
him not in sincerity and truth.
The Assyrian is" called the rod of God’s anger,
because he is employed by him. (1. ) From him his
power is derived; I will send him, I will give him
a charge. Note, All the power that wicked men
have, though they often use it against God, they al-
wavs receive from him. Pilate could have no pow¬
er against Christ, unless it were given him from
above, John xix. 11. (2.) By him the exercise of
that power is directed. The Assyrian is to take the
spoil, and to take the prey, not to shed any blood;
we read not of any slain, but he is to plunder the
country, rifle the houses, drive the cattle, and strip
them of all their wealth and ornaments, and tread
them down like the mire of the streets. When God’s
professing people wallow in the mire of sin, it is just
with God to suffer their enemies to tread upon them
like mire. But why must the Assyrian prevail thus
against them? Not that they might be ruined, but
'hat they might be thoroughly reformed.
II. See how the king of Assyria, in his pride,
magnified himself as his own master, and pretend¬
ed to be absolute, and above all control; to act pure¬
ly according to his own will, and for his own honour.
God ordained him for judgment, even the mighty
[ God established him for correction, (Hab. i. 12.) to
be an instrument of bringing his people to repent¬
ance; howbeit, he means not so, nor does his heart
think so, v. 7. He does not think that he is either
j God’s servant, or Israel’s friend; either that he can
do no more than God will let him, or that he shall
do no more than God will make to work for the
good of his people. God designs to correct his peo-
le for, and so to cure them of, their hypocrisy, and
ring them nearer to him ; but was that Sennache-
I rib’s design? No, it was the furthest thing from
his thoughts: he means not so. Note, 1. The wise
God often makes even the sinful passions and pro¬
jects of men subservient to his own great and holy
purposes. 2. When God makes use of men as in¬
struments in his hand to do his work, it is very
common for him to mean one thing, and them to
mean another; nav, for them to mean the quite con¬
trary to what he intends. What Joseph’s brethren
designed for hurt, God overruled for good, Gen. 1.
20. Sec Mic. iv. 11, 12. Men have their ends, and
God has his, but we are sure the cotinsel of the Lord
shall stand. But what is it the proud Assyrian aims
at? The heart of kings is unsearchable, but God
knew what was in his heart: he designs nothing but
to destroy, and to cut off nations not a few, and to
make himself master of them. (1.) He designs to
gratify his own cruelty; nothing will serve but to
destroy, and cut off. He hopes to regale himself
with blood and slaughter; that of particular persons
will not suffice, he must cut off nations. It is below
him to deal by retail, he traffics in murder by whole¬
sale; nations, and those not a few, must have but one
neck, which he will have the pleasure of cutting off.
(2.) He designs to gratify his own covetousness and
ambition, to set up for a universal monarch, and
to gather unto him all nations, Hab. ii. 5. An in¬
satiable desire of wealth and dominion, is that which
carries him on in this undertaking.
The prophet here brings him in vaunting and
hectoring; and by bis general’s letter to Hezekiah,
written in his name, vainglory and arrogance seem
to have entered very far into the spirit and genius
of the man. His haughtiness and presumption are
here described very largely, and his very language
copied out, partly to represent him as ridiculous,
and partly to assure the people of God that he
would be brought down; for that maxim gene¬
rally holds true that pride goes before destruc-
tion. It also intimates, that God takes notice, and
keeps an account, of all men’s proud and haughty
words, with which they set heaven and earth at de¬
fiance. They that speak great swelling words of
vanity, shall hear of them again.
[1.] He boasts what great things he has done to
other nations. First, He has made their kings his
courtiers; (u. 8.) “My princes are altogether kings;
those that are now my princes, are such as have
been kings.” Or, he means that he had raised his
throne to that degree, that his servants, and those
that were in command under him, were as great,
and lived in as much pomp, as the kings of other
countries. Or, those that were absolute princes in
their own dominions, held their crowns under him,
and did him homage. This was a vainglorious
boast; but how great is our God whom we serve,
who is indeed King of kings, and whose subjects are
made to him kings! Rev. i. 6. Secondly, He has
made himself master of their cities: he names se¬
veral, (v. 9.) that were all alike reduced by him;
Calno soon yielded as Carchemish did; Hanvth
could not hold out any more than Arpad; and Sa¬
maria is become his, as well as Damascus. To sup¬
port his boasts, he is obliged to bring the victories
of his predecessor into the account; for it was he
i that conquered Samaria, not Sennacherib. Thirdly ,
! He had beer, too hard for their idols, their tute’.ai
ISAIAH, X.
63
gods, and had found out the kingdoms ot their idols,
and found out ways to make them his own, v. 10.
Their kingdoms took denominations from the idols
they worshipped ; the Moabites are called the peo¬
ple of Chemosh, (Jer. xlviii. 46.) because they ima¬
gined their gods were their patrons and protectors;
and therefore Sennacherib vainly imagines that
every conquest of a kingdom was the conquest of a
god. Fourthly, He had enlarged his own domi¬
nions, and removed the bounds of the people, (xa
13.) enclosing many large territories within the li¬
mits of his own kingdom, and shifting a great way
further the ancient landmarks which his fathers
had set; he could not bear to be hemmed in so close,
but must have more room to thrive. By his re¬
moving the border of the people, Mr. White un¬
derstands his arbitrary transplanting of colonies
from pi ice to place, which was the constant prac¬
tice of tiie Assyrians in all their conquests; tins is a
probable interpretation. Fifthly, He had enriched
himself with their wealth, and brought it into his
own exchequer; I'have robbed their treasures. In
that, he said truly. Great conquerors are often no
better than great robbers. Lastly, He had master¬
ed all the opposition he met with; “I have put
down the inhabitants as a valiant man: those that
sat high, and thought they sat firm, I have hum¬
bled, and made to come down.”
He boasts, 1. That he had done all this by his
own policy and power; (y. 13.) By the strength of
my hand, for I am valiant; and by my wisdom, for
I am prudent: not by the permission of providence,
and the blessing of God: he knows not that it is God
that makes him what he is, and puts the staff into
his hand, but sacrifices to hit own net, Hab. i. 16.
It is all gotten by my might, and the power of my
hand, Deut. viii. 17. Downright atheism and pro¬
faneness, as well as pride and vanity, are at the bot¬
tom of men’s attributing their prosperity and suc¬
cess thus to themselves and their own conduct, and
raising their own character upon it. 2. That he
had done all this with a great deal of ease, and had
made but a sport and diversion of it, as if he had
been taking birds’ nests; (xj. 14.) My hand has
found as a nest the riches of the people; and when
lie had found them, there was no more difficulty in
taking them than in rifling a nest, nor anv more re¬
luctance or regret within his own breast, in destroy¬
ing families and cities, than in destroying crows’
nests: killing children was no more to him than
killing birds. “ As one gathers the eggs that are
left in the nest by the dam, so easily have I gather¬
ed all the earth ;” (like Alexander, he thought he
had conquered the world;) and whatever prey he
seized, there was none that moved the wing, or
opened the mouth, or peeped, as birds do when their
nests are rifled; they durst not make any opposition,
no, nor any complaint; such awe did they stand in
of this mighty conqueror; they were so weak, that
they knew it was to no purpose to resist; and he
was so arbitrary, that they knew it was to no pur¬
pose to complain. Strimge! that ever men, who
were made to do good, should take a pride and a
pleasure in doing wrong, and doing mischief to all
about them without control; and should reckon that
their glory which is their shame! But their day will
come to fall, who thus make themselves the terror
of the mighty, and much more of the feeble, in the
land o f the living.
[2.] He threatens what he will do to Jerusalem,
which he was now about to lay siege to, v. 10. 11.
He would master Jerusalem and her idols, as he had
Hibdued other places and their idols, particularly
Samaria. First, He blasphemously calls the God
•or Israel an idol, and sets him on a level with the
f lse cods of other nations, as if none were the true
God but Mithras, the sun, whom he worshipped.
See how ignorant he was, and then we shall the less
wonder that he was so proud. Secondly, He pre
fers the graven images of other countries before
those of Jerusalem and Samaria, when he might
have known that the worshippers of the God of Is
racl were expressly forbidden to make any graven
images, and if any did, it must be by stealth, and
therefore they could not be so rich and pompous as
those of other nations. If he mean the ark and the
mercy-seat, he speaks like himself, very foolishly,
and as one that judged by the sight of the eye, and
might therefore be easily deceived in matters of spi¬
ritual concern. Those who make external pomp
and splendour a mark of the true church, go by the
same rule. Thirdly, Because he had conquered
Samaria, he concludes Jerusalem would fall of
course; “shall not I do so to Jerusalem? Can I not
as easily, and may I not as justly?” But it did not
follow; for Jerusalem adhered to her God, whereas
Samaria had forsaken him.
III. See how God, in his Justice, rebukes his
pride, and reads his doom. We have heard what
the great king, the king of Assyria, says, and how
big he talks; let us now hear what the great God
has to say by his servant the prophet, and we shall
find that, wherein he deals proudly, God is above
him.
1. He shows the vanitv of his insolent and auda¬
cious boasts; (xi. 15.) Shall the are boast itself
against him that hews therewith? Or, Shall the saw
magnify itself against him that draws it? So absurd
are the boasts of this proud man. “ O what a dust
do I make!” said the fly upon the cart-wheel in the
fable. “What destruction do I make among the
trees!” says the axe. Two ways the axe may be
said to boast itself against him that hews with it;
( 1. ) By way of resistance and opposition. Senna¬
cherib blasphemed God, insulted him, threatened
to serve him as he had served the gods of the na¬
tions; now this was as if the axe should fly in the
face of him that hews with it. The tool striving
with the workman is no less absurd than the clay
striving with the potter: and as it is a thing not to
be justified, that men should fight against God with
the wit, and wealth, and power, which he gives
them, so it is a thing not to De suffered; but if men
will be thus proud and daring, and bid defiance to
all that is just and sacred, let them expect that God
will reckon with them; the more insolent they are,
the surer and sorer will their ruin be. (2.) By way
of rivalship and competition. Shall the axe take to
itself the praise of the work it is employed in? So
senseless, so absurd, was it for Sennacherib to say.
By the strength of my hand I have done it, and by
my wisdom, v. 13. It is as if the rod, when it is
shaken, should boast that it guides the hand which
shakes it; whereas when the staff is lifted up, is it
not wood still? So the last clause may be read. If
it be an ensign of authority, (as the nobles of the
people carried staves, Numb. xxi. 18.) if it be an
instrument of service, either to support a weak man,
or to correct a bad man, still it is wood, and can do
nothing but as it is directed by him that uses it.
The psalmist prays that God would make the na¬
tions know that they were 'but men, (Ps. ix. 20.) the
staff to know that if is but wood.
2. He foretells his fall and ruin.
(1.) That when God hath done his work by him,
he will then do his work upon him, x'. 12. For the
comfort of the people of God, in refer; nee to Sen¬
nacherib’s invasion, though it was a dismal time
with them, let them know, [1.] That God designed
to do good in 7.ion and Jerusalem by his providence;
there is a work to be done Upon them, which God
intends, and which he will perform. Note, When
God lets loose the enemies of his church and peo¬
ple, and suffers them for a time to prevail, it is in
ISAIAH, X.
fi4
order tn the performing of some great good work
upon them ; and when that is done, then, and not till
then, he will work deliverance for them. When
God brings his people into trouble, it is to try them,
(Dan. xi. 35.) to bring sin to their remembrance,
and humble them for it, and to awaken them to a
sense of their duty, to teach them to pray, and to
love and help one another; and this must be the
fruit, even the taking aiuay of sin, ch. xxvii. 9.
When these points are, in some measure, gained by
the affliction, it shall be removed in mercy, (Lev.
xxvi. 41, 42.) otherwise not; for as the word, so the
rod, shall accomplish that for which God sends it.
[2.] That when God had wrought this work of
grace for his people, he would work a work of
wrath and vengeance upon their invaders; I will
punish the fruit of the stout heart of the king of
Assyria. His big words are here said to come from
his stout heart, and they are the fruit of it, for out
of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks; no¬
tice is taken too of the glory, of his high looks, for
a proud look is the indication of a proud spirit.
The enemies of the church are commonly very high
and haughty; but, sooner or later, God will reckon
for that. He glories in it as an incontestable proof
of his power and sovereignty, that he looks upon
proud men, and abases them, Job xl. 11, &c.
(2.) That how threatening soever this attempt
was upon Zion and Jerusalem, it should certainly be
baffled and broken, and come to nothing, and he
should not be able to bring to pass his enterprise, v.
16 — 19. Observe,
[1.] Who it is that undertakes his destruction,
and will be the Author of it; not Hezekiah, or his
princes, or the militia of Judah and Jerusalem;
(what can they do against such a potent force?) but
God himself will do it, as the Lord of hosts, and as
the I right of Israel. First, We are sure he can do
it, for he is the Lord of hosts, of all the hosts of
heaven and earth; all the creatures are at his com¬
mand, he makes what use he pleases of them, and
lays what restraints he pleases on them. He is the
Lord of the hosts both of Judah and of Assyria,
and can give the victory to which he pleases. Let
us not fear the hosts of any enemy, if we have the
Lord of hosts for us. Secondly, We have reason to
hope he will do it, for he is the Light of Israel, and
his Holy One. God is Light; in him are . perfect
brightness, purity, and happiness. He is Light, for
he is the Holy One; his holiness is his glory. He is
Israel’s Light, to direct and counsel his people, to
favour and countenance them, and so to rejoice and
comfort them in the worst of times. He is their
Holy One, for he is in covenant with them ; his ho¬
liness is engaged and employed for them. God’s
holiness is the saints’ comfort; they give thanks at
the remembrance of it, and with a great deal of plea¬
sure call him their Holy One, Hab. i. 12.
[2.1 How this destruction is represented. It shall
be. First, As a consumption of the body by a dis¬
ease; The Isjrd shall send leanness among his fat¬
nesses, or his fat ones. His numerous army, that was
like a body covered with fatness, shall be diminish¬
ed, and waste away, and become like .a skeleton.
Secondly, as a consumption of buildings, or trees
and bushes, bv fire; Under his glory, that very thing
which he glories in, he will kindle a burning, as the
burning of a ,/ire, which shall lay his army in ruins,
as suddenly as a raging fire lays a stately house
in ashes. Some make it an allusion to the fire kin¬
dled under the sacrifices, for proud sinners fall as
sacrifices to divine justice. Observe, 1. How this
fire shall be kindled, x>, 17. The same God that is
a rejoicing Light to them that serve him faithfully,
will be a consuming Fire to them that trifle with
him, or rebel against him; the Light of Israel shall
be a Fire to the Assyrians, as the same pillar ol
cloud was a light to the Israelites, and a terror to
the Egyptians, in the Red sea. What can oppose
what can extinguish, such a fire? 2. What deso¬
lation it shall make; It shall burn and devour its
thorns and briers, his officers and soldiers, which
are of little worth, and vexations to God’s Israel, as
thorns and briers, whose end is to be burned, and
which are easily and quickly consumed by a de¬
vouring fire; (ch. xxvii. 4.) Who would set the bri¬
ers and thorns against me in battle ? They will be
so far from stopping the fire, that they will inflame
it; I would go through them and bum them toge
ther; they shall be devoured in one day, all cut off
in an instant. When they cried not only Peace and
safety, but Victory and triumph, then sudden de¬
struction came; it came surprisingly, and was cc m-
pleted in a little time. Even the glory of his forest,
\v. 18.) the choice troops of his army, the veterans,
the troops of the household, the bravest regiments
he had, that he was most proud of, and depended
most upon, that he values, as men do their timber-
trees, the glory of their forest, or their fruit-trees,
the glory of their Carmel; those shall be put as bri¬
ers and thorns before the fire ; they shall be consum¬
ed both soul and body, entirely consumed, not only
a limb burned, but life taken away. Note, God
is able to destroy both soul and body, and there¬
fore we should fear him more than man, who can
but kill the body; great armies before him are but
as great woods, which he can fell or fire when he
pleases.
And what would be the effect of this great slaugh
ter? The prophet tells us, (1.) That the army
would hereby, be reduced to a very small number;
The rest of the trees of his forest shall be few! verv
few shall escape the sword of the destroying angel,
so few that there needs no artist, no muster-master,
or secretary of war, to take an account of them,
for even a child may soon reckon the numbers of
them, and write the names of them. (2.) That
those few who remained, should be quite dispirited;
They shall be as when a standard-bearer faints;
when he either falls or flees, and his colours are
taken by the enemy, this discourages the whole
armv, and puts them all into confusion. Upon the
whole matter we must say, Who is able to stand be¬
fore this great and holy Lord God ?
20. And it shall come to pass in that day,
that the remnant of Israel, and such as are
escaped of the house of Jacob, shall no
more again stay upon him that smote them ;
but shall stay upon the Lord, the Holy
One of Israel, in truth. 21. The remnant
shall return, rrrn the remnant of Jacob, unto
the mighty God. 22. For though thy peo¬
ple Israel be as the sand of the sea, ijpA a
remnant of them shall return: the consump¬
tion decreed shall overflow with righteous¬
ness. 23. For the Lord God of hosts shall
make a consumption, even determined, in
the midst of all the land.
The prophet had said, (v. 12.) that the Lord
would perform his whole work upon Afount Zion
and upon 'Jerusalem, by Sennacherib’s invading of
the land; now here we are told what that work
should be. A two-fold work:
1. The conversion of some, tn whom this provi¬
dence should be sanctified, and yield the peaceable
fruit of righteousness, though for the present it was
not joyous, but grievous; these are but a remnant;
l| (i>. 22i) the remnant of Israel, (v. 20.) the remnant
11 of Jacob, (v. 21.) but a very few in comparison with
ISAIAH, X.
the vast numbers of the people of Israel, which
were as the sancl of the sea. Note, Converting-
work is wrought but on a remnant, who are distin¬
guished from the rest, and set apart for God. When
we see how populous Israel is, how numerous the
members of the visible church are, as the sand of
the sea, and yet consider that of those a remnant
only shall be saved, that of the many that are called
there are but few chosen, we shall surely strive to
enter in at the strait gate, and fear lest we seem to
come short. The remnant of Israel are said to be
such as are escaped of the house of Jacob, such as
escaped the corruptions of the house of Jacob, and
kept their integrity in times of common apostacy;
and that was a lair escape. And therefore they es¬
cape the desolations of that house, and shall be pre¬
served in safety, in times of common calamity; and
that also will be a fair and narrow escape. Their I
lives shall be given them for a prey; (Jer. xlv. 5.)
the righteous scarcely are saved.
Now, (1.) This remnant shall come off from all
confidence in an arm of flesh, this providence shall
cure them of that; they shall no more again stay
ufion him that smote them, shall never depend upon
the Assyrians, as they have done, for help against
their other enemies, finding that they are themselves
their worst enemies; Ictus piscator sap.it — Suffer¬
ings teach caution. They have now learned, by
dear-bought experience, the folly of leaning upon
that staff as a stay to them, which may perhaps
prove a staff to beat them ; it is a part of the co¬
venant of a returning people, (Hos. xiv. 3.) As¬
syria shall not save us. Note, By our afflictions
we may learn not to make creatures our confidence.
(2.) They shall come home to God, to the mighty
God, (one of the names given to the Messiah, c/i.
ix. 6.) to the Holy One of Israel. The remnant
shall return; (that was signified by the name of the
prophet’s son, Shear-jashub, ch. vii. 3.) even the
remnant of Jacob; they shall return after the rais¬
ing of the siege of Jerusalem, not only to the quiet
possession of their houses and lands, but to God and
to their duty; they shall repent and pray, and seek
his face, and reform their lives. The remnant that
escape, are a returning remnant; they shall return
to God, and shall stay upon him. Note, Those only
may with comfort stay upon God, that return to
him; then may we have a humble confidence in
God, when we make conscience of our duty to him.
They shall stay upon the Holy One of Israel, in
truth, and not in pretence and profession only. This
promise of the conversion and salvation of a rem¬
nant of Israel now, is applied by the apostle, (Rom.
ix. 27.) to the remnant of the Jews, which, at the
first preaching of the gospel, received and enter¬
tained it: and sufficiently proves, that it was no new
thing for God to abandon to ruin a great many of
the seed of Abraham, and yet preserve his pro¬
mise to Abraham in full force and virtue; for so it
was now. The number of the children of Israel was as
the sand of the sea, (according to the promise, Gen.
xxii. 17.) and yet only a remnant shall be saved.
2. The consumption of others; The Lord God of
hosts shall make a consumption; (v. 23.) this is not
meant (as that v. 18.) of the consumption of the As¬
syrian army, but of the consumption of the estates
and families of many of the Jews by the Assyrian
army. This is taken notice of, to magnify the pow¬
er and goodness of God in the escape of the distin¬
guished remnant, and to let us know what shall be¬
come of those that will not return to God; they shall
be wasted away by this consumption, this general
decay in the midst of the land. Observe, (1.) It is
a consumption of God’s own making; he is the au¬
thor of it; the Lord God of hosts, whom none can
resist, he shall make this consumption. (2.) It is
decreed, it is not the product of a sudden resolve, but
VOL. IV — 1
|j was before ordained; it is determined, not onlv tha*
i there shall be such a consumption, but it is cut out,
' (so the word is,) it is particularly appointed, how
tar it shall extend, and how long it shall continue,
who shall be consumed by it, and who not. (3.) It
is an overflowing consumption, that shall overspread
the land, and, like a mighty torrent or inundation,
bear down all before it. (4. ) Though it overflows,
it is not at random, but in righteousness, which sig¬
nifies both wisdom and equity. God will justlv
bring this consumption upon a provoking people,
but he will wisely and graciously set bounds to it;
Hitherto it shall come, and no further.
24. Therefore llius saith the Lord God
of hosts, O my people that dwellest in Zion,
be not afraid of the Assyrian; he shall smite
thee with a rod, and shall lift up his staff
against thee, after the manner of Egypt.
25. For yet a very little while, and the in¬
dignation shall cease, and mine anger, in
their destruction. ' 26. And the Lord of
hosts shall stir up a scourge for him accord¬
ing to the slaughter of Midian at the rock
of Oreb : and as his rod was upon the sea.
so shall he lift it up after the manner of
Egypt. 27. And it shall come to pass in
that day, that his burden shall be taken
away from off thy shoulder, and his yoke
from off thy neck, and the yoke shall be
destroyed because of the anointing. 28.
He is come to Aiath, he is passed to JVJi-
gron; at Michmash he hath laid up his
carriages: 29. They are gone over the pas¬
sage: they have taken up their lodging at
Geba; Ramah is afraid; Gibeah of Saul is
fled. 30. Lift up thy voice, O daughter of
Gallim; cause it to be heard unto Laish,
O poor Anathoth. 31. Madmenah is re¬
moved; the inhabitants of Gebim rather
themselves to flee. 32. As yet shall he re¬
main at Nob that day: he shall shake his
hand against the mount of the daughter of
Zion, the hill of Jerusalem. 33. Behold, the
Lord, the Lord of hosts, shall lop the
bough with terror: and the high ones of
stature shall be hewn down, and the haughty
shall be humbled. 34. And he shall cut
down the thickets of the forests with iron,
and Lebanon shall fall by a mighty one.
The prophet, in his preaching, distinguishes be¬
tween the precious and the vile; for God, in his pro¬
vidence, even in the same providence, does so; he
speaks terror, in Sennacherib's invasion, to the hy¬
pocrites, who were the people of Gotl's ’wrath, v.
6. But here he speaks comfort to the sincere, who
were the people of God’s love. The judgment was
sent for the sake of the former, the deliverance was
wrought for the sake of the latter. Here we have.
I. An exhortation to God’s people, not to he
frightened at this threatening calamitv, n< r to be
put into any confusion or consternation by it; (v.
24.) Let the sinners in Zion be afraid, ch. xxxiii
14. 0 my people that dwellest in Zion, be no’ afraa.
of the Assyrian. Note, It is against the mind and
will of God, that his people, whatever happens
oe
ISAIAH,
sh ,uld give wav to that fear which lias t rment and |
amazement. They that dwell in Zion, where God
dwells, and where his people attend him, and are
employed in his service, that are under the protec¬
tion of the bulwarks that are round about Zion,
(Ps. xlviii. 13.) need not be afraid of any enemy.
Let their souls dwell at ease in God.
II. Considerations offered for the silencing of their
fear.
1. The Assyrian shall do nothing against them
but what God has appointed and determined; they
are here told beforehand what he should do, that it
may be no surprise to them, “He shall smite, thee
by the divine pel-mission, but it shall be only with a
rod to correct thee, not with a sword to wound and
kill; nay, he shall but lift up his staff against thee,
threaten thee, and frighten thee, and shake the rod
at thee, after the manner of Egypt, as the Egyp¬
tians shook their staff against your fathers at the
Red sea, when they said, IVe will pursue, -we will
overtake, (Exod. xv. 9.) but could not reach to do
them any hurt.” Note, We should not be fright¬
ened at those enemies that can do no more than
frighten us.
2. The storm will soon blow over; (x>. 25.) Yet a
very little while, a little, little while, (so the word
is ,)'and the indignation shall cease, even mine an¬
ger, which is the staff in their hand, (y. 5.) so that
when that ceases, they are disarmed, and disabled
to do any further mischief. Note, God’s anger
against his people is but for a moment; (Ps. xxx.
5l) and when that ceases, and is turned away from
us, we need not fear the fury of any man, for it is
impotent passion.
3. The enemy that threatens them, shall himself
be reckoned with ; God’s anger against his people
shall cease in the destruction of their enemies; when
he turns away his wrath from Israel, he shall turn
it against the Assyrian; and the rod with which he
corrected his people, shall not only be laid aside,
but thrown into the fire. He lift lift 'his staff against
Zion, but God shall stir ufi a scourge for him;
(d. 26.) he is a terror of God’s people, but God will
be a Terror to him; the destroying angel shall be
this scourge; which he can neither flee from, nor
contend with. The prophet, for the encouragement
of God’s people, quotes precedents, and puts them
in mind of what God had done formerly against the
enemies of his church, that were very strong and
formidable, but were brought to ruin. The des¬
truction of the Assyrian shall be, (1.) According to
the slaughter of Midian, which was effected by an
invisible power, but done suddenly, and it was a
total rout. And as at the rock of Oreb, one of the
princes of Midian, after the battle, was slain, so
shall Sennacherib be in the temple of his god Nis-
roch, after the defeat of his forces, when he thinks
the bitterness of death is past. Compare with this,
Ps. lxxxiii. 11. Make their nobles like Oreb, and
like Zeeb; and see how God’s promises and his peo¬
ple’s prayers agree. (2.) As his rod was upon the
sea, the Red sea, as Moses’s rod was upon that, to
divide it, first for the escape of Israel, and then to
close it again for the destruction of their pursuers,
so shall his rod now be lifted up, after the manner
of Egypt, for the deliverance of Jerusalem and the
destruction of the Assyrian. Note, It is good to
observe a resemblance between God’s latter and
former appearances for his people, and against his
and their enemies.
4. Thev shall be wholly delivered from the power
of the Assyrian, and from the fear of it; (v. 27.)
they shall not only be eased of the Assyrian army,
which now quartered upon them, and which was a
grievous yoke and burthen to them, but they shall
no more pay that tribute to the king of Assyria,
which, before this invasion, he had exacted from
them, (2 Kings xviii. 14.) shall be no longer at J. is
service, nor lie at his mercy, as they have done;
nor shall he ever again put the country under con¬
tribution. Some think it looks further, to the de¬
liverance of the Jews out of their captivity in Baby¬
lon; and further yet, to the redemption of believers
from the tyranny of sin and Satan. The yoke shall
not only be taken away, but it shall be destroyed;
the enemy shall no more recover his strength, to do
the mischief he has done. And this, because of the
anointing , for their sakes, who were partakers of
the anointing. (1.) For Hezelciah’s sake, who was
the anointed of the Lord, who had been an active
reformer, and was dear to God. (2.) For David’s
sake; that is particularly given them as the reason
why God would defend Jerusalem from Sennache¬
rib, ( ch . xxxvii. 35.) For my own sake, and for my
servant David’s sake. (3.) For his people Israel’s
sake, the good people among them that had received
the unction of divine grace. (4.) For the sake of
the Messiah, the Anointed of God, whom God had
an eye to in all the deliverances of the Old Testa¬
ment church, and hath still an eye to in all the fa¬
vours he shows to his people; it is for his sake that
the yoke is broken, and that we are made free
indeed.
III. A description both of the terror of the enemy,
and the terror with which many were struck by it,
and the folly of both exposed, v. 28, to the end.
Where observe,
1. How formidable the Assyrians were, and how
daring and threatening they affected to appear
Here is a particular description of his march, what
course he steered, what swift advances he made;
He is come to Aiath, 8cc. This and the other place
he has made himself master of, and has met with
no opposition; At Michmash he has laid up his
carriages, as if he had no further occasion for his
heavy artillery, so easily was every place he came
to reduced; or, the store-cities of Judah, which were
fortified for that purpose, were now become his
magazines. Some remarkable pass, and an impor¬
tant one, he had taken, they are gone over the
passage.
2. How cowardly the men of Judah were, the de¬
generate seed of that lion’s whelp; they are afraid,
they are fled upon the first alarm, and did not offer
to make any head against the enemy; their apostacy
from God had dispirited them, so that one chases a
thousand of them. Instead of a valiant shout, to
animate one another, nothing was heard but lamen¬
tation, to discourage and weaken one another. And
poor Anathoth, a priest’s city, that should have
been a pattern of courage, shrieks louder than any;
(r>. 30.) with respect to those that gathered them¬
selves together, it was not to fight, but to flee by
consent, v. 31. This is designed either, (1.) Tc
show how fast the news of the enemies progress
flew through the kingdom; He is come to Aiath, says
one; nay, says another, He is passed to Migron, &c.
And yet, perhaps, it was not altogether so bad as
common fame represented it. But we must watch
against the fear, not only of evil thitigs, but of evil
tidings, which often make things worse than really
they are, Ps. cxii. 7. Or, (2.) To show what im¬
minent danger Jerusalem was in, when its enemies
made so many bold advances towards it, and its
friends could not make one bold stand to defend it
Note, The more daring the church’s enemies are,
and the more dastardly those are that should appear
for her, the more will God be exalted in his own
strength, when, notwithstanding this, he works de
liverance for her.
3. How impotent his attempt upon Jerusalem
shall be; He shall remain at Arob, whence he may
see mount Zion, and there he shall shake his hand
against it; (u. 32. ) he shall threaten it. and that shall
67
ISAIAH, XI.
be all; it shall be safe, anti shall set him at defiance;
the daughter of Jerusalem, to be even with him,
shall shake her head at him, ch. xxxvii. 22.
4. How fatal it would prove, in the issue, to him¬
self; when he snakes his hand at Jerusalem, and is
about to lay hands on it, then is God’s time to ap¬
pear against him; for Zion is the place of which
God has said, This is my rest for ever; therefore'
those who threaten it, affront God himself. Then
the Lord shall loft the bough with terror, and cut
down the thickets of the forests, t>. 33, 34. ( 1. ) The
ride of the enemy shall be humbled, and the
oughs that are lifted up on high shall be lopped
off, the high and stately trees shall be hewn down,
the haughty shall be humbled; those that lift up
themselves in competition with God, or opposition
to him, shall be abased. (2.) The power of the
enemy shall be broken; the thickets of the forest he
shall cut down. When the Assyrian soldiers were
under their arms, and their spears erect, they looked
like a forest, like Lebanon: but when in one night
they all became as dead corpses, the pikes were
laid on the ground, and Lebanon was of a sudden
cut down by a mighty one, the destroying angel,
who in a little time slew so many thousands of them:
and if this shall be the exit of that proud invader,
let not God’s people be afraid of him. JVho art
thou, that thou shouldest be afraid of a man that shall
die?
CHAP. XI.
It is a very good transition in prophecy, (whether it be so
in rhetoric or no,) and a very common one, to pass from
the prediction of the temporal deliverances of the church
to that of the great salvation, which in the fulness of
time shall be wrought out by Jesus Christ, of which the
other were types and figures to which all the prophets
bare witness; and so the ancient Jews understand them.
For what else was it that raised so great an expectation |
of the Messiah at the time he came. Upon occasion of
the prophecy of the deliverance of Jerusalem from Sen¬
nacherib, here comes in a prophecy concerning Messiah
the Prince: I. His rise out of the house of David, v. 1.
II. His qualifications for his great undertaking, v. 2, 3.
III. The justice and equity of his government, v. 3.. 5.
IV. The peaceableness of his kingdom, v. 6.. 9. V.
The accession of the Gentiles to it, (v. 10.) and with them
the remnant of the Jews, that should be united with them
in the Messiah’s kingdom, v. 11 . . 16. And of all this,
God would now shortly give them a type, and some
dark representation, in the excellent government of He-
zekiah, the great peace which the nation should enjoy un¬
der him, after the ruin of Sennacherib’s design, and the
return of many of the ten tribes out of their dispersion
to their brethren of the land of Judah, when they enjoyed
that great tranquillity.
1. A ND there shall come forth a rod out
-fV of the stern of Jesse, and a Branch
shall grow out of his roots: 2. And the Spi¬
rit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spi¬
rit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit
of counsel and might, the 'spirit of know¬
ledge, and of the fear of the Lord ; 3. And
shall make him of quick understanding in
the fear of the Lord: and he shall not judge
after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove
alter the hearing of his ears. 4. But with
righteousness shall he judge the poor, and
reprove with equity for the meek of the earth :
and he shall smite the earth with the rod of
his mouth, and with the breath of his lips
shall he slay the wicked. 5. And righteous¬
ness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faith-
Inlness the girdle of his reins. 6. The wolf
also shall dwell with the lamb, and tlie leo¬
pard shall lie down with the kid; and the
tali, and the young lion, and the fading to¬
gether; and a little child shall lead them.
7. And the cow and the bear shall feed;
their young ones shall lie down together:
and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. 8.
And the sucking child shall play on the hole
ol the asp, and the weaned child shall put
his hand on the cockatrice’ den. 9. They
shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy
mountain: for the earth shall be full of the
knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover
the sea.
The prophet had before, in this sermon, spoken
of a Child that should be born, a Son that should be
given, on whose shoulders the government should
be; intending this for the comfort of the people of
God in times of trouble, as dying Jacob, many ages
before, had intended the prospect of Shiloh for the
comfort of his seed in their affliction in Egypt. He
had said, {ch. x. 27.) that the yoke should be de¬
stroyed because of the anointing; now here he tells
us on whom that anointing should rest. He foretells,
I. That the Messiah should, in due time, arise
out of the house of David, as that Branch of the
Lord, which he had said {ch. iv. 2.) should be ex
cellent and glorious; the word is JVetzer, whic
some think is referred to, Matth. ii. 23. where it is
said to be spoken by the prophets of the Messiah,
that he should be called a Nazarene. Observe here,
1. Whence this Branch should arise: from Jesse.
He should be the Son of David, with whom the
covenant of royalty was made, and to whom it was
promised with an bath, that of the fruit of his loins
God would raise ufx Christ, Acts ii. 30. David is
often called the son of Jesse, and Christ is called so,
because he was to be not only the Son of David,
but David himself, Hos. iii. 5.
2. The meanness of his appearance. (1.) He is
called a Nod, and a Branch; both the words here
used signify a weak, small, tender product, a twig,
and a s/irig; so some render them; such as is easily
broken off. The enemies of God’s church were
just before compared to strong and stately boughs,
{ch. x. 33.) which will not, without great labour,
be hewn down; but Christ, to a tender branch; {ch.
liii. 2. ) yet he shall be victorious over them. (2.)
He is said to come out of Jesse, rather than David,
because Jesse lived and died in meanness and obscu¬
rity; his family was of small account, (1 Sam. xviii.
18.) and it was in a way of contempt and reproach
that David was sometimes called the son of Jesse,
ch. xxii. 7. (3.) He comes forth out of the stem, or
stump, of Jesse; when the royal family that had
beer- -s a cedar, was cut down, and only the stump
of it left, almost levelled with the ground, and lost
in the grass of the field, (Dan. iv. 15.) yet it shall
sprout again, Job xiv. 7. Nay, it shall grow out of
his roots, which are quite buried in the earth, and,
like the roots of flowers in the winter, have no stem
appearing above ground. The house of Dai id was
reduced and brought very low at the time of Christ’s
birth, witness the obscurity and poverty of Joseph
and Mary. The Messiah was thus to begin his
estate of humiliation, for submitting to which he
should be highly exalted, 'and would thus give earlv
notice that his kingdom was not of this world. The
Ch aldee Paraphrase reads this, There shall com
forth a king from the sons of Jesse, and the Mes¬
siah (or Christ) shall be anointed out of his sons’ sons
II. That he should be every way qualified fo.
that great work to which he was designed; that th's
63 ISAIAH, XI.
tender Branch should be so watered with the dews
of heaven, as to become a strong Rod for a sceptre
to rule, v. 2.
1. In general; the Spirit of the Lord shall rest
upon him. The Holy Spirit, in all his gifts and
graces, shall not only come, but rest and abide, upon
him; he shall have the Spirit not by measure, but
without measure, the fulness of the Godhead dwell¬
ing in him. Col. i. 19.— ii. 9. He began his preach¬
ing with this, (Luke iv. 18.) The Spirit of the Lord
is upon me.
2. In particular; the spirit of government, by
which he should be every way fitted for that judg¬
ment which the Father has committed to him, and
given him authority to execute, John v. 22, 27.
And not only so, but he should be made the Foun¬
tain and Treasury of all grace to believers, that
from his fulness they might all receive the Spirit of
grace, as all the members of the body derive animal
spirits from the head. (1. ) He shall have the spirit
of wisdom and understanding, of counsel and know¬
ledge; he shall thoroughly understand the business
he is to be employed in. JVo man knows the Fa¬
ther but the Son, Matth. xi. 27. What he is to
make known to the children of men concerning
God, and his mind and will, he shall be himself ac¬
quainted with and apprised of, John i. 18. He shall
know how to administer his spiritual kingdom in all
the branches of it, so as effectually to answer the
two great intentions of it, the glory of God, and the
welfare of the children of men. The terms of the
covenant shall be settled by him, and ordinances in¬
stituted, in wisdom: treasures of wisdom shall be
in him; he shall be our Counsellor, and shall be
made of God to us Wisdom. (2.) The spirit of
courage, or might, or fortitude; the undertaking
was very great, abundance of difficulty must be
broken through, and therefore it was necessary that
he should be so endowed that he might not fail, or
be discouraged, ch. xlii. 1. He was famed tor cou¬
rage in his teaching the way of God in truth, and
not caring for any man, Matth. xxii. 16. (3.) The
Spirit of religion, or the fear of the Lord; not only
he shall himself have a reverent affection for his Fa¬
ther, as his servant, {ch. xlii. 1.) and he was heard
in that he feared, (Heb. v. 7.) but he shall have a
zeal for religion, and shall design the advancement
of it in his whole undertaking. Our faith in Christ
was never designed to supersede and justle out, but
to increase and support, our fear of the Lord.
III. That he should be accurate and critical, and
very exact in the administration of his government,
and the exercise of the power committed to him;
(v. 3.) The Spirit wherewith he shall be clothed,
shall make him of quick understanding, in the fear
if the Lord ; of an acute smell or scent, so the word
is, for the apprehensions of the mind are often ex¬
pressed by the sensations of the body. Note, 1.
Those are most truly and valuably intelligent, that
are so in the fear of the Lord, in the business of re¬
ligion, for that is both the foundation and top-stone
of wisdom. 2. By this it will appear that we have
the Spirit of God, if we have spiritual senses exer¬
cised, and are of quick understanding, in the fear
of the Lord; those have divine illumination, that
know their duty, and know how to go about it. (3.)
Therefore, Jesus Christ had the Spirit without mea¬
sure, that he might perfectly understand his under¬
taking; and he did so, as appears not only in the ad¬
mirable answers he gave to all that questioned with
him, which proved him to be of quick understand¬
ing, in the fear of the Lord; but in the management
of his whofe undertaking. He has settled the great
affair of religion so unexceptionably well, (so as ef¬
fectually to secure both God’s honour and man’s
happiness,) that it must be owned, he tho:-c uglily
uiderstood it
IV. That he should be just and righteous in all
the acts of his government, and there should appear
in it as much equity as wisdom. He shall judge, as
he expresses it himself, and as he himself would be
judged of, John vii. 24.
1. Not according to outward appearance; (v. 3.)
He shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, with
respect of persons, (Job xxxiv. 19.) and according
to outward shows and appearances, nor reprove af¬
ter the hearing of his ears, by common fame and re¬
port, and the representations of others, as men oft
do; nor does he judge of men by the fair words
they speak, calling him Lord, Lord, or their plau¬
sible actions before the eye of the world, which they
do to be seen of men; but he will judge by the hid¬
den man of the heart, and the inward principles
men are governed by, of which he is an infallible
Witness. Christ will judge the secrets of men;
(Rom. ii. 16. ) will determine concerning them, not
according to their own pretensk ns and appearan¬
ces, that were to judge after the sight of the eyes;
not according to the opinion others have of them,
that were to judge after the hearing of the ears; but
we are sure that his judgment is according to truth.
2. He will judge righteous judgment; (y. 5.) Righ¬
teousness shall be the girdle of his loins; he shall
be righteous in the administration of his govern¬
ment, and his righteousness shall be his girdle, it
shall constantly compass him and cleave to him, it
shall be his ornament and honour; he shall gird him¬
self for every action, shall gird on his sword for war
in righteousness; his righteousness shall be his
strength, and shall make him expeditious in his
undertakings, as a man with his loins girt. In con¬
formity to Christ, his followers must have the gir¬
dle of truth, (Eph. vi. 14.) and it will be the stability
of the times. Particularly,
(1.) He shall in righteousness plead for the peo¬
ple that are poor and oppressed; he will be their
Protector; (x>. 4.) with righteousness shall he judge
the poor, shall judge in favour and defence of these
that have right on their side, though they are poor in
the world, and because they are poor in spirit. It
is the duty of princes to defend and deliver the
poor, (Ps. 'lxxxii. 3, 4.) and the honour of Christ,
that he is the poor man’s King, Ps. lxxii. 2, 4. He
shall debate with evenness for the meek of the earth,
or of the land; those that bear the injuries done them,
with meekness and patience, are in a special man¬
ner entitled to the divine care and protection. I,
as a deaf man, heard not, for thou wilt hear, Ps.
xxxviii. 13, 14. Some read it, He shall reprove
or correct the meek of the earth with equity. If
his own people, the meek of the land, do amiss, he
will visit their transgression with the rod.
(2. ) He shall in righteousness plead against his
enemies that are proud and oppressors; (y. 4.) Rut
he shall smite the earth, the man of the earth, that
oppresses; (see Ps. x. 18.) the men of the world,
that mind earthly things only; (Ps. xvii. 14.) these
he shall smite with the rod of his mouth, the word
of his mouth, speaking terror and ruin to them ; his
threatenings shall take hold of them, and be exe¬
cuted upon them; with the breath of his lips, by the
operation of his Spirit, according to his word, and
working with and by it, he shall slay the wicked.
He wiil do it easily, with a word’s speaking, as he
laid those flat who came to seize him, by saying, I
am he, John xviii. 6. Killing terrors shall arrest
theii consciences, killing judgments shall ruin them,
their power, and all their interests; and in the other
world everlasting tribulation will be recompensed to
those that trouble his poor people. The apostle ap¬
plies this to the destruction of the man of sin, whom
he calls that wicked one, (2 Thes. ii. 8.) whom the
Lord will consume with the spirit of h.s month.
And the Chaldee litre reads it, lie shall slay that
IS MAH. XI.
69
wicked Romulus,* or Rome, as Mr. Hugh Brough¬
ton understands it.
V. That there should be great peace and tran¬
quillity under his government; this is an explica¬
tion of what was said, c/i. ix. 6. that he should
be the Prince of Peace. Peace signifies two things:
1. Unity and concord; these are intimated in
these figurative promises, that even the wolf shall
dwell peaceably with the lamb; men of the most
fierce and furious dispositions, who used to bite and
devour all about them, shall have their temper so
strangely altered by the efficacy of the gospel and
grace of Christ, that they shall live in love even
with the weakest, and such as formerly they would
have made an easy prey of. So far shall the sheep
be from hurting one another, as sometimes they
have done, (Ezek. xxxiv. 20, 21.) that even the
wolves shall agree with them. Christ, who is our
Peace, came to slay all enmities, and to settle
lasting friendships among his followers, particu¬
larly between Jews and Gentiles: when multitudes
of both, being converted to the faith of Christ,
united in one sheep-fold; then the wolf and the lamb
dwelt together; the wolf did not so much as threat¬
en the lamb, nor was the lamb afraid of the wolf.
The leopard shall not only not tear the kid, but shall
lie down with her: even their young ones shall lie
down together, and shall be trained up in a blessed
amity, in order to the perpetuating of it. The lion
shall cease to be ravenous, and shall eat straw like
the ox, as some think all the beasts of prey did be¬
fore the Fall. The asp and the cockatrice shall
cease to be venomous, so that parents will let their
children play with them, and put their hands among
them. A generation of vipers shall become a seed
of saints, and the old complaint of Homo homini
l u fius — Man is a wolf to man, shall be at an end.
They that inhabit the holy mountain, shall live as
amicably as the creatures did that were with Noah
in the ark, and it shall be a means of their preser¬
vation, for they shall not hurt or destroy one ano¬
ther as they have done. Now, (1.) This is fulfilled
in the wonderful effect of the gospel upon the minds
of those that sincerely embrace it; it changes the
nature and makes those that trampled on the meek
of tlie earth, not only meek like them, but kind to
them. When Paul, who had persecuted the saints,
joined himself to them, then the wolf dwelt with the
lamb. (2. ) Some are willing to hope it shall yet have
a further accomplishment in the latter days, when
swords shall be beaten into filoughshares.
2. Safety and security; Christ, the great Shep¬
herd, shall take such care of his flock, that those
who would hurt them, shall not; they shall not only
not destroy one another, but no enemy from with¬
out shall be permitted to give them any molesta¬
tion; the property of troubles, and of death itself,
shall be so altered, that they shall not do any real
hurt to, much less shall they be the destruction
of, any that have their conversation in the holy
mountain, 1 Pet. iii. 13. Who, or what, can harm
us, if we be followers of him that is good ?
G id's people shall be delivered not only from evil,
but from thi fear of it; even the sucking child shall
without any terror filay ufion the hole of the asfi;
blessed Paid does so when he says, Who shall sefia-
rate us from the love of Christ ? and O death!
where is thy sting?
Lastly, Observe what shall be the effect, and
what the cause, of this wonderful softening and
sweetening of men’s tempers by the grace of God.
1. The effect of it shall be, tractableness, and a
willingness to receive instruction; A little child shall
lead them who formerly scorned to be controlled
by the strongest man. Calvin understands it of
thei; willing submision to the ministers of Christ,
| who are to instruct with meekness, and not to use
I any coercive power, but to be as little children,
Matt, xviii. 3. See 2 Crr. v iii. 5.
2. The cause of it shall be, the knowledge of God.
The more there is of that, the more there is of a
disposition to peace. They shall thus live in lore,
for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the
Lord, which shall extinguish men’s heats and ani¬
mosities. The better acquainted we are with the
God of love, the more we shall lie changed into the
same image, and the better affected shall we be to
all those that bear his image. The earth shall be
as full of this knowledge as the channels of the sea
are of water; so broad and extensive shall this
knowledge be, and so far shall it spread; so deep
and substantial shall this knowledge be, and so long
shall it last. There is much more of the know¬
ledge of God to be got by the gospel of Christ, than
could be got by the law of Moses; and whereas then
in Judah only was God known, now all shall know
him, Heb. viii. 11. But that is knowledge falsely
so called, which sows discord among men: the right
knowledge of God settles peace.
10. And in that day there shall he a root
of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of
the people ; to it shall the Gentiles seek :
and his rest shall he glorious. 11. And it
shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord
shall set his hand again the second time to
recoverthe remnant of his people, which shall
be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and
from Pathros, and from Cush, and from
Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath,
and from the islands of the sea. 12. And he
shall set up an ensign for the nations, and
shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and
gather together the dispersed of Judah from
the four corners of the earth. 13. The
envy also of Ephraim shall depart, and the
adversaries of Judah shall be cut off;
Ephraim shall not envy Judah, and Judah
shall not vex Ephraim. 14. But they shall
fly upon the shoulders of the Philistines
toward the west ; they shall spoil them of
the east together : they shall lay their liana
upon Edom and JVIoab ; and the children
of Ammon shall obey them. 15. And the
Lord shall utterly destroy the tongue of the
Egyptian sea; and with his mighty wind
shall he shake his hand over the river
and shall smite it in the seven streams, and
make men go over dry-shod. 16. And there
shall be a highway for the remnant of his
people, which shall be left from Assyria,
iike as it was to Israel in the day that he
came up out of the land of Egypt.
We have here a further prophecy of the enlarge¬
ment and advancement of the kingdom of the Mes¬
siah, under the tvpe and figure of the flourishing
condition of the kingdom of Judah in the latter end
of Hezekiah’s reign, after the defeat of Senna
cherib.
1. This prediction was in part accomplished
when the great things God did for Hezekiah and
his people, proved as an ensign, inviting the neigh¬
bouring nations to them, to inquire of the wonders
* .ir nullum. — Ed.
70
ISAIAH, XI.
done in the land, cn which errand the king of Baby¬
lon’s ambassadors came. To them the Gentiles
sought; and Jerusalem, the rest or habitation of the
Jews, was then glorious, v. 10. Then many of the
Israelites who belonged to the kingdom of the ten
tribes, who, upon the destruction of that kingdom
by the king of Assyria, were forced to flee for shel¬
ter into all the countries about, and to some that lay
very remote, even to the islands of the sea, were
encouraged to return to their own country, and
put themselves under the protection and govern¬
ment of the king of Judah; the rather, because it
was ar Assyrian army by which their country had
been ruined, and that was now routed. This is
said to be a recovery of them the second time, (v.
1 1. ) such an instance of the power and goodness of
God, and such a reviving to them, as their first de¬
liverance out of Egypt was. Then the outcasts of
Israel should be gathered in, and brought home,
and those of Judah too, who, upon the approach of
the Assyi’ian army, shifted for their own safety.
Then the old feud between Ephraim and Judah
shall be forgotten, and they shall join against the
Philistines and their other CQmmon enemies, v. 13,
14. Note, Those who have been sharers with each
other in afflictions and mercies, dangers and deli¬
verances, in consideration thereof, ought to unite
for their joint and mutual safety and protection;
and then it is likely to be well with the church, when
Ephraim and Judah are one against the Philistines.
Then, whatever difficulties there may be in the
way of the return of the dispersed, the Lord shall
find out some way or other to remove them; as,
when he brought Israel out of Egypt, he dried up
the Red sea and Jordan, ( v . 15.) and led them to
Canaan through the invincible embarrassments of a
vast howling wilderness, v. 16. The like will he
do this second time, or that which shall be equiva¬
lent; when God’s time is come for the deliverance
of his people, mountains of opposition shall become
plain before him. Let us not despair, therefore,
when the interests of the church seem to be brought
very low; God can soon turn gloomy days into glo¬
rious ones.
II. It had a further reference to the days of the
Messiah, and the accession of the Gentiles to his
kingdom; for to that the apostle applies, v. 10. of
which the following verses are a continuation.
Rom. xv. 12. There shall be a root of Jesse; and
he that shall rise to reign over the Gentiles, in him
shall the Gentiles trust. That is a key to this pro¬
phecy, which speaks of Christ as the Root of
Jesse, a branch out of his roots, (x>. 1.) a root out
of a dry ground, ch. liii. 2. He is the Root of Da¬
vid, (Rev. v. 5.) the Root and Offspring of David,
Rev. xxii. 16.
1. He shall stand, or be setup, for an Ensign of
the people; when he was crucified, he was lifted up
from the earth; that, as an Ensign or Beacon,
lie might draw the eyes and hearts of all men
unto him, John xii. 32. He is set up as an Ensign
in the preaching of the everlasting gospel, in which
the ministers, as standard-bearers, display the
banner of his love, to allure us to him, (Cant. i. 4.)
the banner of his truth, under which we may enlist
ourselves to engage in a holy war against sin and
Satan. Christ is the ensign to whom the children
of God that were scattered abroad, are gathered to¬
gether, (John xi. 52.) and in whom they meet as
the Centre of their unity.
2. To him shall the Gentiles seek; we read of
( rreeks that did so; John xii. 21. IVe would see Jesus;
and upon that occasion Christ spake of his being
lifted up, to draw all men to him. The apostle,
from the LXX, (or perhaps the LXX from the
apostle, in the editions after Christ,) reads it,
(Rom. xv. 12.) In him shall the Gentiles trust;
they shall seek to him with a dependance on him.
3. His rest shall be glorious. Some understand
it of the death of Chris ; the triumphs of the cross
made even that glorious. Others of his ascensi. n;
when he sat down to rest at the right hand of God.
Or rather, it is meant of the gospel church, that
Mount Zion, of which Christ has said, This is my rest;
and in which he resides. This, though despised by
the world, having upon it the beauty of holiness, is
truly glorious; a glorious high throne, Jer. xvii. 12.
4. Both Jews and Gentiles shall be gathered to
him, v. 11. A remnant of both, a little remnant
in comparison, which shall be recovered, as it were,
with great difficulty and hazard. As formerly God
delivered his people, and gathered them out < f all
the countries whither they were scattered, (Ps. cvi.
47. Jer. xvi. 15, 16.) so he will a second time, in
another way, by the powerful working of the Spirit
of grace with the word. He shall set his hand to
do it; lie shall exert his power, the arm of the
Lord shall be revealed to do it. 1. There shall be
a remnant of the Jews gathered in. The outcasts
of Israel, and the dispersed of Judah, {v. 12.) many
of whom, at the time of the bringing of them in to
Christ, were Jews of the dispersion, the twelve
tribes that were scattered abroad, (James i. 1. 1
Pet. i. 1.) these shall fleck to Christ; and, proba¬
bly, more of those scattered Jews were brought into
the church, in proportion, than those which re¬
mained in their own land. (2.) Many of the na¬
tions, the Gentiles, shall be brought in by the lifting
up of the ensign. Jacob foretold concerning Shiloh,
that to him shall the gathering of the people be.
Those that were strangers and foreigners, shall be
made nigh. The Jews were jealous cf Christ’s
going to the dispersed among the Gentiles, and cf
his teaching the Gentiles, John vii. 35.
5. There shall be a happy accommodation between
Judah and Ephraim, and both shall be safe from
their adversaries, and have dominion over them, v.
13, 14. The coalescence between Judah and Israel
at that time, was a type and figure of the uniting
of Jews and Gentiles in thf gospel-church, who
had been so long at variance. The house of Judah
shall walk with the house of Israel, (Jer. iii. 18.)
and become one nation; (Ezek. xxxvii. 22.) so the
Jews and Gentiles are made of twain one new man,
Eph. ii. 16. And being at peace one with ano¬
ther, those that are adversaries to them both, shall
be cutoff; (or they shall fly upon the shoulders of
the Philistines, as an eagle strikes at her prey, shall
spoil them on the west side of them: and then
they shall extend their conquests eastward, ever
the Edomites, Moabites, and Ammonites; the gos¬
pel of Christ shall be successful in all parts, and
some of all nations shall become obedient to the
faith.
Lastly, Every thing that might hinder the pro¬
gress and success of the gospel, shall be taken rut
of the way. As when God brought Israel rut cf
Egypt, he’ dried up the Red sea and Jordan before
them, (ch. lxiii. 11, 12.) and as afterward when he
brought up the Jews cut of Babylon, he prepared
them their way; {ch. lxii. 10.) so when Jews and
Gentiles are to be brought together into the gospel-
church, all obstructions shall be removed, (v. 15,
16.) difficulties that seemed insuperable shall be
strangely got over; the blind shall be led by a way
that ihey knew not. See ch. xlii. 15, 16. — xliii. 19,
20. Converts shall be brought in chariots and in
litters, ch. lxvi. 20. Some think it is the further
accession of multitudes to the church, that is point¬
ed at in that obscure prophecy of the drying up of
the river Euphrates, that the way of the kings of
the east may be prepared, (Rev. xvi. 12.) which
seems to refer to this here. Note, When God’s
time is come for the bringing of nations, or par-
71
ISAIAH. Xli.
licular persons, home to himself, divine grace will
bo victorious over all opposition. At the presence
ot the Lord, the sea shall flee, and Jordan be driven
back: and those who set their faces heaven-ward
v ill find there are not such difficulties in the way as
they thought there were, for there is a highway
thither, ch. xxxv. 8.
CHAP. XII.
The salvation promised in the foregoing chapter was com¬
pared to that of Israel, in the day that he came up out of
the land of Egypt; so that chapter ends. Now as Moses
and the children of Israel sang a song of praise, to the
lory of God, ( Exod . xv. 1.) so shall the people of God
o in that day, when the Root of Jesse shall stand for an
Ensign of the people, and shall be the Desire and Joy of
all nations. In that day, 1. Every particular believer
shall sing a song of praise for his own interest in that
salvation; (v. 1. .3.) Thou slialt say , Lord, J will praise
‘thee: thanksgiving-work shall be closet-work. II. Many
in concert shall join in praising God for the common
benefit arising from this salvation; (v. 4.. 6.) Ye shall
say, praise ye the Lord: thanksgiving- work shall be con¬
gregation-work; and the praises oi God shall be pub¬
licly sung in the congregations of the upright.
1. 4 ND in that day thou shalt say, O
£ JL Lord, I will praise thee: though
thou wast angry with me, thine anger is
turned away, and thou comfortedst me. 2.
Behold, God is my salvation ; I will trust,
and not be afraid: for the Lord JEHO¬
VAH is my strength and my song; he also
is become my salvation. 3. Therefore with
joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of
salvation.
This is the former part of the hymn of praise
which is prepared for the use of the church; of the
Jewish church, when God would work great deli¬
verances for them, and of the Christian church-
when the kingdom of the Messiah should be set up
in the world, in despite of the opposition of the
powers of darkness; In that day thou shalt say, 0
Lord, I will /iraise thee. The scattered church,
being united into one body, shall, as one man, with
one mind and one mouth, thus praise God, who is
one, and his name one. In that day, when the
Lord shall do these great things for thee, thou shalt
sail, 0 Lord, I will praise thee. That is,
I. “ Thou shalt have cause to say so.” The pro¬
mise is sure, and the blessings contained in it are
very rich, and, when they are bestowed, will furnish
the church with abundant matter for rejoicing, and
therefore with abundant matter for thanksgiving.
The Old Testament prophecies of gospel-times are
often expressed by the joy and praise that shall then
be excited; for the inestimable benefits we enjoy by
Jesus Christ, require the most elevated and enlarg¬
ed thanksgivings.
II. “Thou shalt have a heart to say so.” All
God’s other gifts to his people shall be crowned
with this; he will give them grace to ascribe all
the glory of them to him, and to speak of them
upon all occasions, with thankfulness to his praise.
Thou shalt say, thou oughtest to say so. In that
day, when many are brought home to Jesus Christ,
and flock to him as doves to their windows, in¬
stead of envying the kind reception they find with
Christ, as the Jews grudged the favour shown
to the Gentiles, thou shalt say, O Lord, I will
praise thee. Note, We ought to rejoice in, and
give thanks for, the grace of God to others as well
as to ourselves.
1. Believers are here taught to give thanks to
God for the turning away of his displeasure from
them, and the return of his favour to them; (v. 1.)
0 Lord, 1 will praise thee, though thou wast anyry
with me. Note, Even God’s frowns must not put
us out of tune for praising him; though he be angry
with us, though he slay us, yet we must put our
trust in him, and give him thanks. God has often
just cause to be angry with us, but we have never
any reason to be angry with him, nor to speak
otherwise than well of him; even when he blames
us, we must praise him. Thou wast angry with
us, but thine anger is turned away. Note, (1.)
God is sometimes angry with his own people, and
the fruits of his anger do appear: they ought to
take notice of it, that they may humble themselves
under his mighty hand. (2.) Though. God may for
a time be angry with his people, vet his anger shall,
at length, be turned away; it endures but for a mo¬
ment, nor will he contend for ever. By Jesus Christ,
the Root of Jesse, God’s anger against mankind was
turned away, for he is our Peace. (3.) Those
whom God is reconciled to, he comforts: even the
turning away of his anger is a comfort to them; yet
that is not all, they that are at peace with God, may
rejoice in the hope of the glory of God, Rom. v. 1,
2. Nay, God sometimes brings his people into a
wilderness, that there he may speak comfortably to
them, Hosea ii. 14. (4.) The turning away cf
God’s anger, and the return of his comforts to
us, ought to be the matter of our joyful, thankful
praises.
2. They are taught to triumph in God, and their
interest in him ; (v. 2.) “Behold, and wonder; God
is my salvation; not only my Saviour, by whom I
am saved, but my Salvation, in whom I am safe.
I depend upon him as my Salvation, for I have
found him to be so. He shall have the glory of
all the salvations that have been wrought for me,
and from him only will I expect the salvation's
I further need, and not from hills and mountains:
and if God be my Salvation, if he undertake my
eternal salvation, I will trust in him to prepare
me for it, and preserve me to it. I will trust
him with my temporal concerns, not doubting but
he will mate all to work for my good. I will
be confident, I will be always easy in mv own
mind.” Note, Those that have God for their Sal¬
vation, may enjoy themselves with a holy security
and serenity of mind; let faith in God, as cur Sal¬
vation, be effectual. (1.) To silence our fears; we
must trust, and not be afraid; not be afraid that the
God we trust in will fail us; no, there is no danger
of that; not be afraid of any creature, though ever
so formidable and threatening. Note, Faith in God
is a sovereign remedy against disquieting, torment¬
ing fears. (2. ) To support our hopes. Is the Lord
Jehovah our Salvation? Then he will be our Strength
and Song. We have work to do and temptations to
resist, we may depend upon him to enable us for
both; to strengthen us with all might by his Spirit
in the inner man, for he is our strength ; his grace is
so, and that grace shall be sufficient for us. We
have many troubles to undergo, and must expect
griefs in a vale of tears; and we may depend upon
him to comfort us in all our tribulations, for he is
our Song, he giveth songs in the night. If we
make God our strength, and put our confidence in
him, he will be our strength; if we make him cur
Song, and place our comfort in him, he will be our
Song. Many good Christians have God for theii
Strength, who have him not for their Song; they
walk in darkness, but light is sown for them: and
they that have God for their Strength, ought to
make him their Song, that is, to give him the glory
of it, (see Ps. lxviii. 35.) and to take to themselves
the comfort of it, for he will become their Salva¬
tion. Observe the title here given to God, Jah, Je¬
hovah; Jah is the contraction of Jehovah, and both
signify his eternity and unchangeableness; which
ISAIAH, XH1.
•.re a great comfort to those that depend upon him
as their Strength and their Song. Some make Jah
to signify the Son of God made man; he is Jehovah,
and in him we may glory as o ur Strength, and Song,
and Salvation.
3. They are taught to derive comfort to them¬
selves from the love of God, and all the tokens of
that love; ( v . 3.) “ Therefore, because the Lord
Jehovah is- vour Strength and Song, and will be
vour Salvation, you shall draw water with joy.”
Note, The assurances God has given us of his love,
and the experiences we have had of the benefit
and comfort of his grace, should greatly encourage
our faith in him and our expectations from him;
“ Out of the wells of Salvation in God, who is the
Fountain of all good to his people, you shall draw
water with joy. God’s favour shall flow forth to
vou, and you shall have the comfort of it, and make
use of the blessed fruits of it.” Note, (1.) God’s
romises revealed, ratified, and given out to us, in
is ordinances, are wells of salvation; wells of the
Saviour, so some read it; for in them the Saviour
and salvation are made known to us, and made over
to us. (2.) It is our duty by faith to draw water
out of these wells, to take to ourselves the benefit
and comfort that are treasured up for us in them, as
those that acknowledge all our fresh springs to be
there, and all our fresh streams to be thence, Ps.
lxxxvii. 7. (3.) Water is to be drawn out of the
wells of salvation with a great deal of pleasure and
satisfaction. It is the will of God that we should
rejoice before him, and rejoice in him, (Dent. xxvi.
11.) be joyful in his house of prayer, (Isa. lvi. 7.)
and keep his feasts with gladness, Acts ii. 46.
4. And in that day shall ye say, Praise
the Lord, call upon his name, declare his
doings among the people, make mention
that his name is exalted. 5. Sing unto
the Lord; for he hath done excellent
things: this is known in all the earth. 6.
Cry out and shout, thou inhabitant of Zion:
for great is the Holy One of Israel in the
midst of thee.
This is the second part of this evangelical song,
and to the same purport with the former; there be¬
lievers stir up themselves to praise God; here they
invite and encourage one another to do it, and are
contriving to spread his praise, and draw in others
to join with them in it. Observe,
1. Who are here called upon to praise God; the
inhabitants of Zion and Jerusalem, whom God had
in a particular manner protected from Sennache¬
rib’s violence, v. 6. Those that have received dis¬
tinguishing favours from God, ought to be most for¬
ward and zealous in praising him. The gospel-
church is Zion, Christ is Zion’s King; those that
have a place and a name in that, should lay out
themselves to diffuse the knowledge of Christ, and
to bring many to him. Thou inhabitress of Zion;
tlie word is feminine; Let the weaker sex be strong
in the Lord, and out of their mouth shall praise be
perfected.
2. How they must praise the Lord: (1.) By
prayer we must call upon his name: as giving thank’s
f ii' former mercy is a decent way of begging fur¬
ther mercy, so begging further mercy is graciously
•> ocepted as a thankful acknowledgment of the mer¬
les we have received. In calling upon God’s name
’c give unto him some of the glory that is due to
Vs name as our powerful and bountiful Benefactor.
v2.) By preaching and writing we must not only
speak to God, but speak to others concerning him ;
not only call upon his name, but (as the margin
reads it) proclaim his name; let others knew some
thing more from us than they did before, concern
ing God, and those things whereby he lias mad?
himself known. Declare his doings, his counsel ■;
so some read it; the work of redempti n is accord¬
ing to the counsel of his will; and in that and other
wonderful yvorks that he has done, we must take
notice of his thoughts which are to us-ward, Ps. xl.
5. Declare these among the people, among the hea¬
then, that they may be brought into communion yvith
Israel and the God of Israel. When the apostles
preached the gospel to all nations, beginning at Jem
salem, then this scripture was fulfilled, that his do
ing should be declared among the people, and that
what he has done should be known in all the earth.
(3.) By a holy exultation and transport, of joy,
“ Cry out and shout, welcome the gospel to your¬
selves, and publish it to others with huzzas and
loud acclamations, as those that shout for victory,
(Exod. xxxii. 18.) or for the coronation of a king'”
Numb, xxiii. 21.
3. For what thev must praise the Lord; (1.) Be¬
cause he has glorified himself. Remember it your¬
selves, and make mention of it to others, that his
name is exalted, is become more illustrious and
more conspicuous; in this every good man rejoices.
(2.) Because he has magnified his people; he has
done excellent things for them, which make them
look great and considerable. (3.) Because he is,
and will be, great among them; great is the Holy
One, for he is glorious in holiness; therefore great
because holy; true goodness is true greatness; great
as the Holy One of Israel, and in the midst of them;
praised by them, (Ps. lxxvi. 1.) manifesting him¬
self among them, and appearing gloriously in their
behalf. It is the honour and happiness of Israel,
that the God yvho is in covenant yvith them, and in
the midst of them, is infinitely great.
CHAP. XIII.
Hitherto, the prophecies of this book related only to Ju¬
dah and Israel, and Jerusalem especially: but now the
prophet begins to look abroad, and to read the doom of
divers of the neighbouring slates and kingdoms; for he
that is King of saints, is also King of nations, and ruler
in the affairs of the children of men as well as in those
of his own children. But the nations to whom these
prophecies do relate, were all such as the people of God
were some way or other conversant and concerned
with; such as had been kind or unkind to Israel, and
accordingly God would deal with them, either in favour
or in wrath; for the Lord’s portion is his people, and to
them he has an eye in all the dispensations of his provi¬
dence concerning those about them, Deut. xxxii. 8, 9.
The threatenings we find here, against Babylon, Mnab,
Damascus, Egypt, Tyre, ^-c. were intended for comfort
to those in Israel that feared God, but were terrified and
oppressed by those potent neighbours, and for alarm to
those among them that were wicked. If God would
thus severely reckon with those for their sins that know
him not, and made not profession of his name, how se¬
vere would he be with those that were called by his name,
and yet live in rebellion against him! And perhaps the
directing of particular prophecies to the neighbouring
nations, might invite some of those nations to the read¬
ing of the Jew's’ Bible, and so they might be brought to
their religion. This chapter, and that which follows, con¬
tain what God had to say to Babylon and Babylon’s
king, who were at present little known to Israel, but
would in process of time become a greater enemy to
them than any other had been, for which God would at
last reckon with them. In this chapter, we have, I. A
general rendezvous of the forces that were to be em¬
ployed against Babylon, v. 1. .5. II. The dreadful bloody
work that those forces should make in Babylon, v. 6. .18.
III. The utter ruin and desolation of Babylon, which
this should end in, v. 19. .22.
1 . rpHE burden of Babylon, which Isaiah
JL the son of Amoz did see. 2. Lift
ye up a banner upon the high mountain,
73
ISAIAH, XITT.
exalt the voice unto them, shake the hand,
that they may go into the gates of the no¬
bles. 3. 1 have commanded my sanctified
ones, 1 have also called my mighty ones for
mine anger, even them that rejoice in my
highness. 4. The noise of a multitude in
the mountains, like as of a great people; a
tumultuous noise of the kingdoms of na¬
tions gathered together: the Loud of hosts
mustereth the host of the battle. 5. They
come from a far country, from the end of
heaven, even the Lord, and the weapons of
his indignation, to destroy the whole land.
The general title of this book was, The visions
t f Isaiah the son of Amoz, ch. i. 1. This is that
which Isaiah did see, which was represented to his
mind as clearly and fully as if he had seen it with
his bodily eyes: but the particular inscription of
this serm n, is, the burthen of Babylon: 1. It is a
burthen, a lesson they were to learn; so some un¬
derstand it; but they would be loath to learn it, and
it would be a burthen to their memories, or a load
which should lie heavy upon them, and under which
they should sink. 'I' hose that will not make the
word of God their rest, (ch. xxviii. 12. Jer. vi.
.6. ) it shall be made a burthen to them. 2. It is
the burthen of Babylon or Babel, which at this time
was a dependent upon the Assyrian monarchy, (the
metropolis of which was Nineveh,) but soon after
revolted from it, and became a monarchy of itself,
and a very potent one, in Nebuchadnezzar. This
prophet afterward foretold the captivity of the
Jews in Babylon, ch. xxxix. 6. Here he foretells
the reprisals God would make upon Babylon for the
wrongs done to his people.
In these verses a summons is given to those pow¬
erful and warlike nations, whom God would make
use of as the instruments of his wrath for the de¬
struction of Babylon: he afterward names them ( v .
17.) the Medes,' who, in conjunction with the Per¬
sians under the command of Darius and Cyrus,
were the ruin of the Babylonian monarchy.
1. The place doomed to destruction is Babylon;
it is here called the gates of the nobles, (xn 2.) be¬
cause in the abundance of noblemen’s houses that
were in it; stately ones, and richly furnished, which
would invite the enemy to come, in hopes of a rich
booty. The gates of nobles were strong and well
guarded, and yet they would be no fence against
those who came with commission to execute God’s
judgments. Before his power and wrath, palaces
are no more than cottages; nor is it only the gates
of the nobles, but the whole land, that is doomed to
destruction; (v. 5.) for though the nobles were the
leaders in persecuting and oppressing God’s people,
yet the whole land concurred with them in it.
(2. ) The persons brought together to lay Babylon
waste, are here called, [1.] God’s sanctified ones,
(v. 3. ) designed for this service, and set apart to it
by the purpose and providence of God; disengaged
from other projects, that they might wholly apply
themselves to this; such as were qualified for that
to which they were called; for what work God em¬
ploys men in, he does in some measure fit them for.
it intimates likewise that in God’s intention, though
not in theirs, it was a holy war; they designed only
the enlargement of their own empire, but God de¬
signed the release of hispeople, and a type of the
destruction of the New Testament Babylon. Cyrus,
the person principally concerned, was justly called
a sanctified one, for he was God’s anointed, (ch.
xlv. 1.) and a figure of him that was to come. It is
a p:tv but all soldiers, especially those that fight the
Vol. iv. — K
Lord’s battles, should be, in the strictest sense,
sanctified ones; it is a wonder they dare be profane
ones, who carry their lives in their hands. [2.]
They are called God’s mighty ones, because thev
had their might from God, and were now to use it
f r him. It is said of Cyrus, that in this expedition
God held his right hand, ch. xlv. 1. God’s sancti¬
fied ones are his mighty ones; whom God calls, he
qualifies; and whom he makes holy, he makes
strong in spirit. [3.] They are said to rejoice in
his highness, to serve his glory and the purposes of
it with great alacrity. Though Cyrus did not know
God, nor actually design his honour in what he did,
yet God used him as his servant; (ch. xlv. 4. I hi. t e
surname d thee as my servant, though thou hast not
known me;) and he rejoiced in those successes b /
which God exalted his own name. [4.] They m<
very numerous, a multitude, a great people; kiny
doms of nations, (v. 4.) not rude and barbarous, 1/ >
modeled and regular troops, such as are furnish c’
out by well-ordered kingdoms: the great God ha
hosts at his command. [5.] They are far-fetched,
they come from the end of heaven: the vast country
of Assyria lay between Babylon and Persia. God
can make those a scourge and ruin to his enemies
that lie most remote from them, and therefore are
least dreaded.
(3.) The summons given them is effectual, their
obedience ready, and they make a very formidable
appearance; A banner is lifted up upon the high
mountain, v. 2. God’s standard is set up, a flag of
defiance hung out against Babylon. It is erected
on high, where all may see it; whoever will, may
erme, and enlist themselves under it, and they shall
be taken immediately into God’s pay. They that
beat for volunteers, must exalt the voice in making
proclamation, to encourage soldiers to come in; they
must shake the hand, to beckon those at a distance,
and to animate those that have enlisted themselves.
And they shall not do this in vain; God has com¬
manded and called those whom he designs to make
use of, (v. 5.) and power goes along with his calls
and commands, which cannot be resisted. He that
makes men able to serve him, can, when he pleases,
make them willing too: it is the Lord of hosts that
musters the host of the battle, v. 4. He raises them,
brings them together, puts them in order, reviews
them, has an exact account of them in his muster-
roll, sees that they be all in their respective posts,
and gives them their necessary orders. Note, All
the hosts of war arc under the command of the Lord
of hosts; and that which makes them truly formida¬
ble, is, that when they come against Babylon, the
Lord comes, and brings them with him as the wea¬
pons of his indignation, v. 5. Note, Great princes
and armies are but tools in God’s hands, weapons
that he is pleased to make use of in doing his work,
and it is his wrath that arms them, and gives them
success.
6. Howl ve; for the day of the Lord is
at haod; it shall come as a destruction from
the Almighty. 7. Therefore shall all hands
be faint, and every man’s heart shall melt :
8. And they shall be afraid: pangs and sor¬
rows shall take hold of them; they shall he
in pain as a woman that travaileth; they
shall be amazed one at another; their faces
shall hr as flames. 9. Behold, the day of
the Lord cometh, cruel both with wrath
and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate,
and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out
of it. 10. For the stars of heaven, and the
74
ISAIAH, Xlll.
constellations thereof, shall not give their :
light: the sun shall be darkened in his going
forth, and the moon shall not cause her
light to shine. 11. And I will punish the
world for their evil, and the wicked for their
iniquity; and I will cause the arrogancy of
the proud to cease, and will lay low the
haughtiness of the terrible. 12. I will make
a man more precious than fine gold; even a
man tnan the golden wedge of Ophir. 13.
Therefore I will shake the heavens, and the
earth shall remove out of her place, in the
wrath of the Lord of hosts, and in the day
of his fierce anger. 1 4 And it shall be as
the chased roe, and as a sheep that no man
taketh up: they shall every man turn to his
own people, and flee every one into his own
land. 1 5. Every one that is found shall be
thrust through; and every one that is joined
unto them shall fall by the sword. 16. Their
children also shall be dashed to pieces be¬
fore their eyes; their houses shall be spoiled,
and their wives ravished. 17. Behold, I
will stir up the Medes against them, which
shall not regard silver; and as for gold, \
they shall not delight in it. 18. Their bewc
also shall dash the young men to pieces ;
and they shall have no pity on the fruit of
the worn!) ; their eye shall not spare chil¬
dren.
We have here a very elegant and lively descrip¬
tion of the terrible confusion and desolation which
should be made in Babylon by the descent which
the Medes and Persians should make upon it. They
that were now secure and easy, are bid to howl, and
make sad lamentation. For,
1. God is about to appear in wrath against them,
and it is a feayful thing to fail into his hands; The
day of the Lord is at hand, (v. 6.) a little day of
judgment, when God will act as a just Avenger of
his own and his people’s injured cause. And there
are those who will have reason to tremble when
that day is at hand; the day of the Lord cometh, v.
9. Men have their day now, and they think to
carry the day; but God laughs at them, for he sees
that his day is coming, Fs. xxxvii. 13. Fury is not
with God, and yet his day of reckoning with the
Babylonians is said to be cruel with turath and fierce
anger. God will deal in severity with them for the
severities they exercised upon God’s people; with
the froward, with the cruel, he will show himself
froward, will show himself cruel, and give the
blood-thirsty blood to drink.
2. Their hearts shall fail them, and they shall
have neither courage nor comfort left; they shall
not be able either to resist the judgment coming, or
to bear up under it, either to oppose the enemy, or
to support themselves, v. 7, 8. They that in the
day of their peace were proud, and haughty, and
terrible, (t>. 11.) are, when trouble comes, quite
dispirited, and are at their wits’ end; all hands
shall be faint, and unable to hold a weapon, and
every man’s heart shall melt, so that they shall be
ready to die for fear. The pangs of their fear shall
be like those of a woman in hard labour, and they
shall be amazed one at another; in frightening them¬
selves, they shall frighten one another; they shall
wonder tu see those tremble, that used to be bold
and daring; or, they shall be amazed, looking one
at another as men at a loss, Gen. xlii. 1. Their
faces shall be as flames, pale as flames, through
fear; so some; or red as flames sometimes are,
blushing at their own cowardice; or their faces shall
be as faces scorched with the flames, or as theirs
that labour in the fire, their visage blacker than a
coal; 'or like a bottle in the smoke, Ps. cxix. 83.
3. All comfort and hope shall fail them; v. 10.
The stars of heaven shall not give their light, but
shall be clouded and overcast; the sun shall be dark¬
ened in his going forth, rising bright, but lost again,
a certain sign of foul weather. They shall be as
men in distress at sea, when neither sun nor star;
appear, Acts xxvii. 20. It shall be as dreadful a
time with them as it would be with the earth, if all
the heavenly luminaries were turned into darkness;
a resemblance of the day of judgment, when the sun
shall be turned into darkness. The heavens frown¬
ing thus, is an indication of the displeasure of the
God of heaven; when things look dark on earth,
yet it is well enough if all be clear upward; but it
we have no comfort thence, wherewith shall we be
comforted?
4. God will visit them for their iniquity; and ah
this is intended for the punishment of sin, and par¬
ticularly the sin of pride, v. 11. This puts worm¬
wood and gall into the affliction and misery, (1.)
That sin must now have its punishment; though
Babylon be a little world, yet, being a wicked world,
it shall not go unpunished. Sin brings desolation cn
the world of the ungodly; and when the kingdoms
of the earth are quarrelling with one another, it is
the fruit of God’s controversy with them all. (2.)
That pride must now have its fall. The haughti¬
ness of the terrible must now be laid low, particu¬
larly of Nebuchadnezzar and his son Belshazzar,
who had, in their pride, trampled upon, and made
themselves very terrible to, the people of God. A
man’s firide will bring him low.
5. There shall be so great a slaughter as will pro¬
duce a scarcity of men; (v. 12.) I will make a man
more precious than fine gold. You could not have
a man to be employed in any of the affairs of state,
! not a man to be enlisted in the army, not a man to
match a daughter to, for the building up of a family,
if you would give any money for one. The troops
of the neighbouring nations would not be hired into
the service of the king of Babylon, because they
saw every thing go against him. Populous coun¬
tries are soon depopulated by war. And God can
soon make a kingdom that has been courted and ad¬
mired, to be dreaded and shunned by all, as a house
that is falling, or a ship that is sinking.
6. There shall be a universal confusion and con¬
sternation; such a confusion of their affairs, that it
shall be like the shaking of the heavens, with dread¬
ful thunders, and the removing of the earth, by no
less dreadful earthquakes. All shall go to wreck
and ruin in the day of the wrath of the Lord of
hosts; v. 13. And such a consternation shall seize
their spirits, that Babylon, which used to be like a
roaring lion, and a ranging bear, to all about her,
shall become as a chased roe, and as a sheep that no
man takes up, v. 14. The army they shall bring
into the field, consisting of troop's of divers nations,
(as great armies usually do,) shall be so dispersed
by their enemies’ sword, that they shall turn cz'ery
man to his own people, each man shall shift for his
own safety; the men of inight shall not find their
hands, (Ps. lxxvi. 5.) but take to their heels.
8. There shall be a general scene of blood and
horror, as is usuA where the sword devrurs. -Vo
wonder that everv one makes the best of his way
since the conqueror gives no quarter, but puts all
to the sword, and not those oniv that are found in
arms, as is usual with us even in the most cruel
75
ISAIAH, XIII.
slaughters: (v. 15.) Every one that is found alive,
shall he run through, as soon ;:s ever it appears that
he is a Babylonian. Nay, because the sword de¬
vours one as well as another, every one that is joined
to them, shall fall by the sword; those of other na¬
tions that come in to their assistance, shall be Cut off
with them. It is dangerous being in bad company,
and helping those whom God is about to destroy :
those particularly that join themselves to Babylon,
must expect to share in her plagues, Rev. xviii. 4.
And since the most sacred laws of nature, and hu¬
manity itself, are silenced by the fury of war, (though
they cannot be cancelled ,) the conquerors shall, in
the most barbarous brutish manner, dash the chil¬
dren to pieces, and ravish the wives. Jusque datum
sce/eri — JVickedness shall have free course, v. 16.
They had thus dealt with God’s people, (Lam. v.
11.) and now they shall be paid in their own coin,
Rev. iii. 10. It was particularly foretold, (Ps.
cxxxvii. 9. ) that the little ones of 'Baby Ion should
be dashed against the stones. How cruel. soever,
and unjust, they were that did it, God was righteous
who suffered it to be done, and to be done before
their eyes, to their great terror and vexation. It
was just also that the houses which they had filled
with the spoil of Israel, should be spoiled and plun¬
dered. What is got by rapine, is often lost in the
same manner.
8. The enemy that God would send against them,
sh uld be inexorable, probably being by some pro¬
vocation or other more than ordinarily exasperated
against them; or, however, God himself will stir up
the Medes to use this severity with the Babylonians.
He will not only serve his own purposes by their
dispositions and designs, but will put it into their
hearts to make this attempt upon Babylon, and
suffer them to prosecute it with all this fury. God
is not the author of sin, but he would not permit it
if he did not know how to bring glory to himself out
of it. These Medes, in conjunction with the Per¬
sians, shall make thorough work of it. F or,
( 1. ) They shall take no bribes, v. 17. All that
men have they would give for their lives, but the
PEdes shall not regard silver; it is blood they thirst
for, not gold; no man’s riches shall with them be the
ransom of his life.
(2.) They shall show no pity, (v. 18.) not to the
young men that are in the prime of their time, they
shall shoot them through with their bows, and then
dash them to pieces; not to the age of innocency,
they shall have no pity on the fruit of the womb, nor
spare little children, whose cries and frights one
would think should make even marble eyes to weep,
and hearts of adamant to relent. Pause a little here,
and wonder, [1.] That men should be thus cruel
and inhuman, and so utterly divested of all compas¬
sion; and in it see how corrupt and degenerate the
nature of man is become. [2.] That the God of
infinite mercy should suffer it, nay, and should make
it to be the execution of his justice; which shows
that though he is gracious, yet he is the God to
whom vengeance belongs. [3.] That little infants,
who have never been guilty of any actual sin, should
be thus abused; which shows that there is an origi¬
nal guilt, by which life is forfeited as soon as it is had.
19. And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms,
the beauty of the Chaldees’ excellency,
shall be as when God overthrew Sodom and
Gomorrah. 20. It shall never be inhabited,
neither shall it be dwelt in from generation
fo generation; neither shall the Arabian
pitch tent there, neither shall the shepherds
make their fold there: 21. But wild beasts
of the desert shall lie there; and their houses
shall be full of doleful creatures; and owls
shall dwell there, and satyrs shall dance
there. 22. And the wild beasts of the islands
shall cry in their desolate houses, and dra¬
gons in their pleasant palaces; and her time
is near to come, and her days shall not be
prolonged.
The great havoc and destruction which it was
foretold should be made by the Medes and Persians
in Babylon, here end in the final destruction of it.
1. It is allowed that Babylon was a noble city; it
was the glory of kingdoms, and the beauty of the
Chaldees’ excellency; it was that head of gold;
(Dan. ii. 37, 38.) it was called the lady of king¬
doms, ( ch . xlvii. 5.) the praise of the whole earth,
(Jer. li. 41.) like a pleasant roe; (so the word signi¬
fies;) but it shall be as a chased roe; (y. 14.) the
Chaldeans gloried in the beauty and wealth of this
their metropolis.
2. It is foretold that it should be wholly destroy¬
ed, like Sodom and Gomorrah; not so miraculously,
nor so suddenly, but as effectually, though gradual¬
ly; and the destruction should come upon them as
that upon Sodom, when they were secure, eating
and drinking, Luke xvii. 28. Babylon was taken
when Belshazzar was in his revel; and though Cy¬
rus and Darius did not demolish it, yet by degrees
it wasted away, and in process of time it went all
to ruin. It is foretold here, (v. 20.) that it shall
never be inhabited; in Adrian’s time, nothing re¬
mained but the wall. And whereas it is prophesied
concerning Nineveh, that great city, that when it
should be deserted and left desolate, yet flocks
should lie down in the midst of it; it is here said
concerning Babylon, that the Arabians, who were
shepherds, should not make their folds there; the
country about should be so barren, that there would
be no grazing there; no, not for sheep; nay, it shall
be the receptacle of wild beasts, that affect solitude;
the houses of Babylon, where the sons and daughters
of pleasure used to rendezvous, shall be full of dole¬
ful creatures, owls and satyrs, that are themselves
frightened thither, as to a place proper for them,
and by whom all others are frightened thence. His¬
torians say that this was fulfilled to the letter. Ben¬
jamin Bar-Jona, in his Itinerary, speaking of Babel,
has these words; “ This is that Babel which was,
of old, thirty miles in breadth; it is now laid waste;
there are yet to be seen the ruins of a palace of Ne¬
buchadnezzar, but the sons of men dare not enter in,
for fear of serpents and scorpions, which possess the
place. ” Let none be proud of their pompous pa¬
laces, for they know not but they may become worse
than cottages; nor let any think that their houses
shall endure for ever, (Ps. xlix. 11.) when perhaps
nothing may remain but the ruins and reproaches
of them.
3. It is intimated that this destniction should
come shortly; {v. 22.) Her time is near to come.
This prophecy of the destruction of Babylon was
intended for the support and comfort of the people
of God when they were captives there, and griev¬
ously oppressed; and the accomplishment of the
prophecy was near 200 years after the time when it
was delivered; yet it followed soon after the time
for which it was calculated. When the people of
Israel were groaning under the heavy yoke of Baby
lonish tyranny, sitting down in tears by the rivers
of Babylon, and upbraided with the songs of Zion,
when their insolent oppressors were most haughty
and arrogant, (v. 11.) then let them know, for their
comfort, that Babylon’s time, her day to fall, was
near to come, and the days of her prosperity shall
not be prolonged, as they have been; when God
begins with her, he will make an end. Thus it is
r6 ISAIAH, XIV,
said of the destruction of the New Testament Baby¬
lon, whereof the former was a type; In one hour
is her judgment come.
CHAP. XIV.
In this chapter, I. More weight is added to the burthen of
Babylon, enough to sink it like a mill-stone; I. It is Is¬
rael’s cause that is to be pleaded in this quarrel with
Babylon, v. 1 . . 3. 2. The king of Babylon, for the time
being, shall be remarkably brought down and triumphed
over, v. 4. . 20. 3. The whole race of the Babylonians
shall be cut off and extirpated, v. 21 . . 23. II. A con¬
firmation of the prophecy of the destruction of Babylon,
which was a thing at a distance, is here given in the pro¬
phecy of the destruction of the Assyrian army that in¬
vaded the land, which happened not long after, v. 24 . . 27.
III. The success of Hezekiah against the Philistines is
here foretold, and the advantages which his people
would gain thereby, v. 28 . . 32.
1. I A OR the Lord will have mercy on Ja-
X. cob, and will yet choose Israel, and
set them in their own land : and the stran¬
gers shall be joined with them, and they
shall cleave to the house of Jacob. 2. And
the people shall take them, and bring them
to their place; and the house of Israel shall
possess them in the land of the Lord for
servants and handmaids: and they shall
take them captives, whose captives they
were; and they shall rule over their op¬
pressors. 3. And it shall come to pass, in
the day that the Lord shall give thee rest
from thy sorrow, and from thy fear, and
from the hard bondage wherein thou wast
made to serve.
This comes in here as the reason why Babylon
must be overthrown and ruined; because God has
mercy in store for his people, and therefore, 1. The
injuries done to them must be reckoned for, and re¬
venged upon their persecutors. Mercy to Jacob
will be wrath and ruin to Jacob’s impenitent, im¬
placable adversaries, such as Babylon was. 2. The
yoke of oppression which Babylon had long laid on
their necks, must be broken off, and they must be
set at liberty; in order to this, the destruction of
Babylon is as necessary as the destmction of Egypt
and Pharaoh was to their deliverance out of that
house of bondage. The same prediction is a pro¬
mise to God’s people, and a threatening to their
enemies, as the same providence has a bright side
towards Israel, and a black and thick side toward
the Egyptians. Observe,
I. The ground of these favours to Jacob and Is¬
rael — the kindness God had for them, and the
choice he had made of them; (t>. 1.) The Lord
will have mercy on Jacob, the seed of Jacob now
captives in Babylon; he will make it to appear that
ne has compassion on them, and has mercy in store
for them, and that he will not contend for ever with'
them, but will yet choose them, will yet again re¬
turn to them, though he had seemed for a time to
refuse and reject them; he will show that they are
his chosen people, and that the election stands sure.
However it may seem to us, God’s mercy is not
gone, nor does his promise fail, Ps. lxxvii. 8.
II. The particular favours he designed them.
1. He would bring them back to their native soil
and air again; The Lord will set them in their own
land, out of which they were driven. A settlement
in the Holy Land, the Land of Promise, is a fruit of
God’s mercy, distinguishing mercy.
2. Many should be proselyted to their holy reli¬
gion, and should return with them, induced to do so
by the manifest tokens of God’s favourable presence
with them, the operations of God’s grace in them,
and his providence for them; Strangers shall bt
joined with them, saying, We will go with you, for
we have heard that God is with you, Zech. viii. 23.
It adds much to the honour and strength of Israel,
when strangers are joined with them, and there are
added to the church many from without, Acts ii.
47. Let not the church’s children be shy of stran¬
gers, but receive those whom God receives, and
own those who cleave to the house of Jacob.
3. These proselytes should not only be a credit to
their cause, but very helpful and serviceable to
them in their return home; the people among whom
they live shall take them, take care of them, take
pity on them, and shall bring them to their place,
as friends, loath to part with such good company,
as servants, willing to do them all the good offices
they could. God’s people, wherever their lot is
cast, should endeavour thus, by all the instances of
an exemplary and winning conversation, to gain an
interest in the affections of those about them, and
recommend religion to their good opinion. This
was fulfilled in the return of the captives from
Babylon, when all that were about them, pursuant
to Cyrus’s proclamation, contributed to their re¬
move, (Ezra i. 4, 6.) not, as the Egyptians, be¬
cause they were sick of them, but because they
loved them.
4. They should have the benefit of their service
when they were returned home, for many would of
choice go with them in the meanest post, rather
than not go with them; They shall possess them in
the land of the Lord, for servants and handmaids;
and as the laws of that land saved it from being the
purgatory of servants, providing that they should
not be oppressed, so the advantages of that land
made it the paradise of those servants that had been
strangers to the covenants of promise, for there was
one law to the stranger, and to them that were born
in the land. They whose lot is cast in the land of
the Lord, a land of light, should take care that then
servants and handmaids may share in the benefit of
it; who will then find it better to be possessed in
the Lord’s land, than possessors in any other.
5. They should triumph over their enemies; and
they that would not be reconciled to them, should
be reduced and humbled by them; They shall takt
them cafitives, whose captives they were, and shall
rule over their oppressors, righteously, but not re¬
vengefully. The Jews perhaps bought Babylonian
prisoners out of the hands of the Medes and Per¬
sians, and made slaves of them: or this might have
its accomplishment in the victories over their ene¬
mies in the times of the Maccabees. It is applica¬
ble to the success of the gospel, when those were
brought into obedience to it, who had made the
greatest opposition to it, as Paul; it is applicable
also to the interest believers have in Christ’s victo¬
ries over our spiritual enemies, when he led cap¬
tivity captive, to the power they gain over their
own corruptions, and to the dominion the upright
shall have in the morning, Ps. xlix. 14.
6. They should see a happy period of all their
grievances; (u. 3.) The Lord shall give thee rest
from thy sorrow, and thy fear, and from the hard
bondage. God himself undertakes to work a bless¬
ed change; (1.) In their state; they shall have rest
from their bondage; the days of their affliction,
though many, shall have an end; and the rod of the
wicked, though it lie long, shall not always lie, c r
their lot. (2.) In their spirit; they shall have rest
from their sorrow and fear, sense of their present
burthens, and dread of worse. Sometimes fear puts
the soul into a ferment as much as sorrow does, and
those must needs feel themselves very easy, to whom
God has given rest from both. They who are freed
'7
ISAIAH, XIV.
fr m the bondage of sin, have a foundation laid for .
true rest from sorrow and fear.
4. That thou slialt take up this proverb
against the king of Babylon, and say, How
hath die oppressor ceased! the golden city
ceased! 5. The Lord hath broken the staff
of die wicked, and the sceptre of the rulers.
G. 1 le who smote the people in wrath with
a continual stroke, he that ruled the nations
in anger, is persecuted, and none hindereth.
7. Tne whole earth is at rest, and is quiet :
they break forth into singing. 8. Yea, the
rir-trees rejoice at thee, and the cedars of
Lebanon, saying , Since thou art laid down,
no feller is come up against us. 9. Hell
from beneath is moved lor thee to meet thee
at thy coming: it stirreth up the dead for
thee, even all the chief ones of the earth; it
hath raised up from their thrones all the
kings of the nations. 10. All they shall
speak, and say unto thee, Art thou also be¬
come weak as we ? art thou become like
unto us 1 11. Thy pomp is brought down
to the grave, and the noise of thy viols : the
worm is spread under thee, and the worms
cover thee. 12. How art thou fallen from
heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how
art thou cut down to the ground, which
didst weaken the nations! 13. For thou
hast said in thy heart, I will ascend into
heaven, I will exalt my throne above the
stars of God ; I will sit also upon the mount
of the congregation, in the sides of the north :
3 4. I will ascend above the heights of the
clouds; I will be like the Most High. 15. Yet
thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the
sides of the pit. 1 6. They that see thee shall
narrowly look upon thee, and consider thee,
saying. Is this the man that made the earth
to tremble, that did shake kingdoms; 17.
Thai made the world as a wilderness, and
destroyed the cities thereof ; that opened not
the house of his prisoners ? 1 8. All the kings
of the nations, even all of them, lie in glory,
every one in his own house : 19. But thou
art cast out of thy grave like an abominable
branch, and as the raiment of those that are
slain, thrust through with a sword, that go
down to the stones of the pit ; as a carcase
trodden under feet. 20. Thou shalt not be
joined with them in burial, because thou
hast destroyed thy land, and slain thy peo¬
ple : the seed of evil-doers shall never be
renowned. 21. Prepare slaughter for his
children, for the iniquity of their fathers; that
they do not rise, nor possess the land, nor
fill the face of the world with cities. 22.
For I will rise up against them, saith the
Lord of hosts, and cut off from Babylon the
name, and remnant, and son, and nephew,
saith the Lord. 23. I will also make it a
possession for the bittern, and pools of wa¬
ter : and I will sweep it with the besom ol
destruction, saith the Lord of hosts.
The kings of Babylon, successively, were the
great enemies and oppressors of God’s people, and
therefore the destruction of Babylon, the fall of the
king, and the ruin of his family, arc here particu¬
larly taken notice of and triumphed in; in the day
that God has given Israel rest, they shall take up
this proverb against the king of Babylon. We
must not rejoice when our enemy falls, as ours; but
when Babylon, the common enemy of God and his
Israel, sinks, then rejoice over her , thou heaven ,
and ye holy apostles and prophets, Rev. xviii. 20.
The Babylonian monarchy bade fair to be an abso¬
lute, universal, and perpetual one, and, in these
pretensions, t ied with the Almighty; it is therefore
very justly, not only brought down, but insulted
over when it is down; and it is not only the last mo¬
narch, Belshazzar, who was slain on that night that
Babylon was taken, (Dan. v. 30.) who is here tri¬
umphed over, but the whole monarchy, which sunk
in him; not without special reference to Nebu¬
chadnezzar, in whom that monarchy was at its
height. Now here,
I. The fall of the king of Babylon is rejoiced in;
and a most curious, elegant composition is li re
prepared, not to adorn his hearse or monument, but
to expose his memory, and fix a lasting brand of in¬
famy upon it. It gives us an account of the life and
death of this mighty monarch, how he 7 vent down
slain to the pit, though he had been the terror of the
mighty in the land of the living, Ezek. xxxii. 27.
In this parable we may observe,
1. The prodigious height of wealth and prwer at
which this monarch and monarchy arrived. Baby¬
lon was a golden city, (v. 4.) It is a Chaldee word
in the original, which intimates that she used to call
herself so; she abounded in riches, and excelh d all
other cities, as gold does all other metals. She is
gold-thirsty, or an exactress of gold; so some re; d
it; for how do men get wealth to themselves, but In-
squeezing it out of others? The New Jems; km is
the only truly golden city. Rev. xxi. 18, 21. The
king of Babylon, having so much wealth in his do¬
minions, and the absolute command of it, by the
help of that ruled the nations, (y. 6.) gave them
law, read them their doom, and, at his pleasun .
weakened the nations, (i>. 12.) that they might it t
be able to make head against him. Such vast vic¬
torious armies did he bring into the field, th; t,
which way soever he looked, he made the earth to
tremble, and shook kingdoms; (v. 16.) all his neigh¬
bours were afraid of him, and were forced to sub¬
mit to him. No one man could do this by his < wn
ersonal strength, but by the numbers he has at his
eck. Great tyrants, by making seme do what
they will, make others suffer what they will. How
piteous is the case of mankind, which thus seems to
be in a combination against itself, and its own rights
and liberties, which could not be mined but by its
own strength.
2. The wretched abuse of all this wealth and
power, which the king of Babylrn was guilty of, in
two' instances:
(1.) Great oppression and cmelty; he is known
by the name of the oppressor, (n. 4.) he has the
sceptre of the rulers, (v. 5.) has the command of all
the princes about him ; but it is the staff of the wick¬
ed, a staff with which he supports himself in his
wickedness, and wickedly strikes all about him;
He smote the people, not in justice, for their coi
rection and reformation, but in wrath, (v. 6.) to
gratify his own peevish resentments, and that with
a continual stroke, pursued them with his forces,
”8
ISAIAH, XIV.
and gave them no respite, no breathing time, no
cessation of arms. He ruled the nations, but he
ruled them in anger, every thing he said and did
was in passi. n; so that he who had the government
of all about him, had no government of himself; he
made the world as a wilderness, as if he had taken
a pride in being the plague of his generation, and
a curse to mankind, (x>. 17.) Great princes used to
glory in building cities, but he gloried in destroying
them; see Ps. ix. 6.
Two particular instances are here given of his ty¬
ranny, worse than all the rest : [1.] That he was
severe to his captives; (v. 17.) He opened not the
house of his prisoners; he did not let them loose
homeward; so the margin reads it; he kept them in
close confinement, and never would suffer any to re¬
turn to their own land. This refers especially to
the people of the Jews, and it is that which fills up
the measure of the king of Babylon’s iniquity, that
he had detained the people of God in captiv ity, and
would by no means release them; nay, and by pro¬
faning the vessels of God’s temple at Jerusalem, did,
in effect, say that they should never return to their
former use, Dan. v. 2, 3. For this he was quickly
and justly turned out by one, whose first act was to
open the house of God’s prisoners, and send home
the temple-vessels. [2.] That he was oppressive
to his own subjects; (v. 20. ) Thou hast destroyed
thy land, and slain thy people; and what did he get
by that, when the wealth of the land, and the mul¬
titude of the people are the strength and honour of
the prince, who never rules so safely, so gloriously,
as in the hearts and affections of the people? Butty-
rants sacrifice their interests to their lusts and pas¬
sions; and God will reckon with them for their bar¬
barous usage of those who are under their power,
whom they think they may use as they please.
(2.) Great pride and haughtiness; notice is here
taken of his pomp, the extravagancy of his retinue;
(n.Tl.) he affected to appear in the utmost magni¬
ficence; but that was not the worst, it was the tem¬
per of his mind, and the elevation of that, that
ripened him for ruin; (k. 13, 14.) Thou hast said
in thy heart, like Lucifer, I will ascend into heaven.
Here is the language of his vainglory, borrowed
perhaps from that of the angels who fell, who, not
content with their first estate, the post assigned
them, would vie with God, and become not only in¬
dependent on him, but equal with him : or perhaps
it refers to the story of Nebuchadnezzar, who, when
he would be more than a man, was justly turned
into a brute, Dan. iv. 30. The king of Babylon
here promises himself, [1.] That in pomp and pow¬
er he shall exceed all his neighbours, and shall ar¬
rive at the very height of earthly glory and felicity;
that he shall be as great and happy as this world
can make him; that is the heaven ot a carnal heart,
and to that he hopes to ascend, and to be as far
above those about him, as the heaven is above the
earth. Princes are the stars of God, which give
some light to this dark world; (Matth. xxiv. 29.)
but he will exalt his throne above them all. [2.]
That he shall particularly insult over God’s mount
Zion, which Belshazzar, in his last drunken frolic,
seemed to have had a particular spite against, when
he called for the vessels of the temple at Jerusalem,
to profane them; see Dan. v. 2. In the same hu¬
mour, he here said, I will sit upoti the mount of the
congregation, (it is the same word that is used for
the holy convocations,) in the sides of the north; so
Mount Zion is said to be situated,' Ps. xlviii. 2.
Perhaps Belshazzar was projecting an expedition to
Jerusalem to triumph in the ruins of it, then when
God cut him off. [3.] That he will vie with the
God of Israel, of whom he had indeed heard glo¬
rious things, that he had his residence above the
height of the clouds; “ But thither,” says he, “will
I ascend, and be as great as he; 1 will be like him
whom they call the Most High." It is a gracious
ambition to covet to be like the Most Holy, for he
has said, Be ye holy, for l am holy; but it is a sin¬
ful ambition to aim to be like the Most High, for he
has said, He who exalts himself shall be abased;
and the devil drew our first parents in to eat forbid-
den fruit, by premising them that they slu uld be
as gods. [4.] That he shall himself be deified af¬
ter his death, as some of the first founders of the
Assyrian monarchy were, and stars had even their
names from them, “ But,” (says he) “ I will exalt
my throne above them all.” Such as this was his
pride, which was the undoubted omen of his de¬
struction.
3. The utter ruin that should be brought upon
him:
(1.) It is foretold that his wealth and power
should be broken, and a final period put to his pomp
and pleasure; he has been long an oppressor, but he
shall cease to be so, v. 4. Had he ceased to be so
by true repentance and reformation, according to
the advice Daniel gave to Nebuchadnezzar, it might
have been a lengthening of his life and tranquillity.
But those that will not cease to sin, God will make
to cease. The golden city, which, one would have
thought, might have continued for ever, is ceased;
there is an end of that Babylon. The Lord, the
righteous God, has broken the staff of that wicked
prince, broken it over his head, in token of the di¬
vesting him of his office. God has taken his power
from him, and disabled him to do any more mis¬
chief: he has broken the sceptres; for even those
are brittle things, soon broken, and often justly.
(2.) That he himself should be seized; He is per¬
secuted; (y. 6.) violent hands are laid upon him, and
none hinders. It is the common fate of tyrants,
when they fall into the power of their enemies, to
be deserted by their flatterers, whom they took for
their friends. We read of another enemy like this
here, of whom it is foretold that he shall come to his
end, and none shall help him, Dan. xi. 45. Tiberius
and Nero thus saw themselves abandoned.
(3.) That he should be slain, undg’o down to the
congregation of the dead, to be free among them, as
the slain that arena more remembered, Ps. lxxxviii.
5. He shall be weak as the dead are, and like unto
them, v. 10. His pomp is brought down to the grave,
it perishes with him ; the pomp of his life shall not,
as usual, end in a funeral pomp. True glory, that
is, true grace, will go up with the soul to heaven,
but vain pomp will go down with the body to the
grave, there is an end of it. The noise of his viols
is now heard no more; death is a farewell to the
pleasures, as well as to the pomps of this world.
This mighty prince, that used to lie on a bed of
down, and tread upon rich carpets, and to have co¬
verings and canopies exquisitely fine, now shall have
the worms spread under him, and the worms cover¬
ing him, (v. 11.) worms bred out of his own putre¬
fied body, which, though he fancied himself a god,
proved him to be made of the same mould with
other men. When we are pampering and decking
our bodies, it is good to remember they will be
worms’ meat shortly.
(4. ) That he should not have the honour of a bu¬
rial, much less of a decent one, and in the sepulchres
of his ancestors; The kings of the nations lie in glo¬
ry; {v. 18.) either the dead bodies themselves, so
embalmed as to be preserved from putrefaction, as
of old among the Egyptians; or their effigies (as
with us) erected over their graves. Thus, as if they
would defy the ignominy cf death, they lay in a
poor, faint sort of glory, every one in his own house,
his own burving-place; for the grave is the house
appointed for all living, a sleeping-house, where the
busy and troublesome will lie quiet, and the treu
73
ISAIAH, XIV.
Died and weary lie at rest. Bat this king of Baby¬
lon is east out, and has no grave; (n. 19.) his dead
body is thrown, like that of a beast, into the next
ditch, or upon the next dunghill, like an abomina¬
ble branch of some noxious, poisonous plant, which
nobody will touch; or as the clothes of malefactors
put to death, and by the hand of justice thrust
through with a sword, on whose dead bodies heaps
of stones are raised, or they are thrown into some
deep quarry, among the stones of the pit. Nay, the
king ot Babylon’s dead body shall be as the carcases
of those who are slain in a battle, who are trodden
under feet by the horses and soldiers, and crushed
to pieces: thus he shall not be joined with his ances-
ters in burial, v. 20. To be denied decent burial
is a disgrace, which, if it be inflicted for righteous¬
ness-sake (asPs. lxix. 2.) may, as other similar re¬
proaches, be rejoiced in; (Matth. v. 12.) it is the lot
of the two witnesses, Rev. xi. 9. But if, as here, it
be the just punishment of iniquity, it is an intima¬
tion that evil pursues impenitent sinners beyond
death, greater evil than that, and that they shall
vise to everlasting shame and contemfit.
4. The many triumphs that should be in his fall.
(1.) Those whom he had been a great tyrant
and terror to, will be glad that they are rid of him;
( v . 7, 8.) Now that he is gone, the whole earth is
at rest, and is quiet, for he was the great disturber
of the peace; now they all break forth into singing,
i ir when the wicked perish, there is shouting; (rrov.
xi. 10.) the fir-trees and cedars of Lebanon now
think themselves safe, there is no danger now of
their being cut down, to make way for his vast ar¬
mies, or to furnish him with timber. The neigh¬
bouring princes, and great men, who are compared
to fir-trees and cedars, (Zech. xi. 2.) may now be
easy, and out of fear of being dispossessed of their
rights, for the hammer of the whole earth is cut
asunder and broken, (Jer. 1. 23.) the axe that boast¬
ed itself against him that hewed with it, ch. x. 15.
(2.) The congregation of the dead will bid him
welcome to them, especially those whom he had
barbarously hastened thither; (v. 9, 10.) “ Hell
from beneath is moved for thee, to meet thee at thy
coming, and to compliment thee upon thy arrival at
their dark and dreadful regions. ” The chief ones
of the earth, who, when they were alive, were kept
in awe by him, and durst not come near him, but
rose from their thrones, to resign them to him, these
shall upbraid him with it; when he comes into the
state of the dead, they shall go forth to meet him,
as they used to do when he made his public entry
into cities he was become master of; with such a
parade shall he be introduced into those regions of
horror, to make his disgrace and torment the more
grievous to him. They shall scoffingly rise from
their thrones and seats there, and ask him if he will
please to sit down in them, as he used to do in their
thrones on earth? The confusion that will then cover
him they shall make a jest of; “ Art thou also be¬
come weak as we? Who would have thought it? It
is what thou thyself didst not expect it would ever
come to, when thou wast in every thing too hard for
us. Thou that didst rank thyself among the im¬
mortal gods, art thou come to take thy fate among
us poor mortal men? Where is thy pomp now, and
where thy mirth? How art thou fallen from heaven,
Q Lucifer, son of the morning," v. 11, 12. The
king of B ibylon has shone as bright as the morning-
star, and fancied that, wherever he came, he
Drought day along with him; and is such an illus¬
trious prince as this fallen, such a star become a clod
of clay? Did ever any man fall from such a height
of honour and power into such an abyss of shame
and misery? This has been commonly alluded to,
(and it is a mere allusion,) to illustrate the fall of
the angels, who were as morning-stars, Job xxxviii.
7. But hot u arc they fallen! How art thou cut
down to the ground, and levelled with it, that didst
weaken the nations! God will reckon with these
that invade the rights, and disturb the peace, of
mankind, for he is King of nations as well as saints.
Now this reception of the- king of Babylon into
the regions of the dead, which is here described,
surely is something more than, a flight of fancy, and
is designed to speak these solid truths: [1.] That
there is an invisible world, a world of spirits, to
which the souls of men remove at death, and in
which they exist and act in a state of separation
from the body. [2.] That separate souls have ac¬
quaintance and converse with each other, though
we have none with them; the parable of the rich
man and Lazarus intimates this. [3.] That death
and hell will be death and hell indeed to those that
fall unsanctified from the height of this world’s
pomps, and the fulness of its pleasures: Hon, re¬
member, Luke xvi. 25.
(3.) Spectators will stand amazed at his, fall.
When he shall be brought down to hi U, to the sides
of the pit, and to be lodged there, (n. 15.) they that
see him shall narrowly look upon hint, and consider
him, they shall scarcely believe their own eyes;
never was death so great a change to any man as it
is to him. Is it possible that a man who a few
hours ago looked so great, so pleasant, and was so
splendidly adorned and attended, should now look
so ghastly, so despicable, and lie thus naked and
neglected? Is this the man that made the earth to
tremble, and shook kingdoms? Who would have
thought he should ever have come to this? Psalm
lxxxii. 7.
Lastly, Here is an inference drawn from all
this; (d. 20.) The seed of evil-doers shall never
be renowned. The princes of the Babylonian mo¬
narch were all a seed of evil-doers, oppressors of
the people of God, and therefore they had this in¬
famy entailed upon them. They shall not be re¬
nowned forever; so some read it; they may look
big for a time, but all their pomp will only render
their disgrace at last the more shameful ; there is no
credit in a sinful way.
II. The utter ruin of the royal family is here fore¬
told, together with the desolation of the royal city.
1. The royal family is to be wholly extirpated.
The Medes and Persians that are to be employed
in this destroying work, are ordered, when they
have slain Belshazzar, to prepare slaughter for his
children, (y. 21.) and not to spare them; the little
ones of Babylon must be dashed against the stones,
Ps. cxxxvii. 9. These orders sound very harsh;
but, (1.) They must suffer for the iniquity of their
fathers, which is often visited upon the children, to
show how much God hates sin, and is displeased at
it, and to deter sinners from it, which is the end of
punishment. Nebuchadnezzar had slain Zedekiah’s
sons, (Jer. lii. 10.) and for that iniquity of his, his
seed are paid in the same coin. (2.) They must
be cut off now, that they may not rise up to possess
the land, and do as much mischief in their day
as their fathers had done in theirs; that they may
not be as vexatious to the world by building cities
for the support of their tyranny, (which was Nim¬
rod’s policy, Gen. x. 11.) as their ancestors had
been by destroying cities. Pharaoh oppressed Israel
in Egypt by 'setting them to build cities, Exod. i. 11.
The providence of God consults the welfare of na¬
tions more th in we are aware of, by cutting iff
some who, if they had lived, would have done mis¬
chief. Justly may the enemies cut < ff the children;
Tor I will rise up against them, saith the I.ord of
hosts, v. 22. And if God reveal it as his mind that
he will have it done, as none can hinder it. so none
need scruple to further it. Babvlon perhaps was
proud of the numbers of her royal family, but God
80
ISAIAH, XIV.
had determined to cut off the name ana remnant of
it, so that none should be left, to have both the sons
and grandsons of the king slain; and yet we are sure
he never did, nor ever will do, any wrong to any
of his creatures.
2. The royal city is to be demolished and desert¬
ed, v. 23. It shall be a possession for solitary fright¬
ful birds, particularly the bittern, joined with the
cormorant and the owl, ch. xxxiv. 11. And thus
the utter destruction of the New Testament Baby¬
lon is illustrated, (Rev. xviii. 2.) it is become a cage
of every unclean and hateful bird. Babylon lay
low, so that when it was deserted, and no care taken
to drain the land, it soon became pools of water,
standing puddles, as unhealthful as unpleasant: and
thus God will sweep it with the besom of destruction.
When a people have nothing among them but dirt
and filth, and will not be made clean with the besom
of reformation, what can they expect but to be
swept off the face of the earth with the besom of
destruction?
24. The Lord of hosts hath sworn, say¬
ing, Surely as I have thought, so shall it
come to pass; and as I have purposed, so
shall it stand; 25. That I will break the
Assyrian in my land, and upon my moun¬
tains tread him under loot: then shall his
yoke depart from off them, and his burden
depart from off their shoulders. 26. This is
the purpose that is purposed upon the whole
earth; and this is the hand that is stretched
out upon all the nations. 27. For the Lord
of hosts hath purposed, and who shall dis¬
annul it? and his hand is stretched out, and
who shall turn it back 1 28. In the year that
king Ahaz died, was this burden. 29. Re-
ioice not thou, whole Palestina, because the
rod of trim that smote thee is broken : for out
of the serpent’s root shall come forth a
cockatrice, and his fruit shall be a fiery fly¬
ing serpent. 30. And the first-bom of the
poor shall feed, and the needy shall lie down
in safety : and I will kill thy root with famine,
and he shall slay thy remnant. 31. Howl,
O gate; cry, O city: thou, whole Palestina,
art dissolved : for there shall come from the
north a smoke, and none shall be alone in
his appointed times. 32. What shall one
then answer the messengers of the nation ?
That the Lord hath founded Zion, and the
poor of his people shall trust in it.
The destruction of Babylon and the Chaldean
empire was a thing at a gn at distance; the empire
was not risen to any considerable height when its
fall was here foretold: it was almost 200 years from
this prediction of Babylon’s fall to the accomplish¬
ment of it. Now the people to whom Isaiah pro¬
phesied, might ask, “ What is this to us, or what
shall we be the better for it, and what assurance
shall we huv< of it?” To both which questions he
answers in these verses, by a prediction of the ruin
both of the Assyrians and of the Philistines, the pre¬
sent enemies that infested them, which they should
shortly be eye-witnesses of, and have benefit by.
These would be a present comfort to them, and a
pledge of future deliverance, for the confirming of
the faith of their posterity. God is to his people
the same to-day that he was yesterday, and will oe
hereafter; and he will for ever be the same that he
has been, and is. Here is,
1. Assurance given of tfie destruction of the As¬
syrians; (x>. 25.) I will break the Assyrian in my
land. Sennacherib brought a very formidable army
into the land of Judah, but there God broke it,
broke all his regiments by the sword cf a destroying
angel. Note, Those who wrongfully invade God’s
land, shall find it is at their peril, and those who with
unhallowed feet trample upon his holy mountains,
shall themselves there be trodden under foot. God
undertakes to do it himself, his people having no
might against the great company that came against
them; “ 1 will break the Assyrian; let me alone to
doit, who have angels, hosts ot angels at command.”
Now the breaking of the power of the Assyrian
would be the breaking of the yoke from off the neck
of God’s people. His burthen shall depart from off
their shoulders, the burthen of quartering that vast
army, and paying contribution; therefore the Assy¬
rian must be broken, that Judah and Jerusalem
may be eased. Let those that make themselves a
yoke and a burthen to God’s people, see what they
are to expect.
Now, 1. This prophecy is here ratified and con¬
firmed by an oath; (x>. 24.) The Lord of hosts has
sworn, that he might show the immutability cf his
Counsel, and that his people may have strong con¬
solation, Heb. vi. 17, 18. What is here said of this
particular intention, is true of all Gcd’s purposes;
As I hav » thought, so shall it come to / lass ; for he
is one in mind, and who can turn him? Nor is he
ever put upon new counsels, or obliged to take new
measures, as men often are, when things occur
which they did not foresee. Let those who are the
called according to God’s fiur/iose, comfort them¬
selves with this, that as God has ftur/tosed, so shall
it stand, and on that their stability does depend.
2. The breaking of the Assyrian power is made
a specimen of what God would do with all the pow¬
ers of the nations that were engaged against him and
his church; (t. 26.) This is the purpose that is pur¬
posed upon the whole earth, the whole world, so the
LXX; all the inhabitants of the earth, so the Chal¬
dee; not only upon the Assyrian empire, (which
was then reckoned to be in a manner all the world,
as afterward the Roman empire was, (Luke ii. 1.)
and with it many nations fell, that had dependence
upon it,) but upon all those states and potentates
that should at any time attack his land, his moun-
t uns; the fate of the Assyrian shall be theirs, they
shall soon find that they meddle to their own hurt.
Jerusalem, as it was to the Assyrians, will be to all
people a burthensome stone; all that burthen them¬
selves with it, shall infallibly be cut to pieces by. it,
Zech. xii. 3, 6. The same hand of power and jus¬
tice that is now to be stretched out against the As¬
syrian for invading the people of God, shall be
stretched out upon all the nations that do likewise.
It is still true, and will be ever so, Cursed is he that
curses God’s Israel, Num. xxiv. 9. God will be an
Enemy to his people’s enemies, Exod. xxiii. 22.
3. All the powers on earth are defied to change
God’s counsel; (x). 27.) “ The Lord of hosts has
purposed to break the Assyrian's yoke, and every
rod of the wicked laid upon the lot of the righteous;
and who shall disannul this purpose? Who can per¬
suade him to recall it, or find a plea to evade it?
His hand is stretched out to execute this purpose;
and who has power enough to turn it back, or to
stay the course of his judgments?”
II. Assurance is likewise given of the destruction
of the Philistines and their power. This burthen,
this prophecy, that lay as a load upon them, to sink
their state, came in the year that king Ahaz died;
which was the first year of Hezekiali’s reign;
81
ISAIAH, XV.
t-v 28. ) when a good king came in the room of a bad
one, then this acceptable message was sent among
them. When we reform, then, and not till then,
we may look for good news from heaven. Now here
we have,
1. A rebuke *to the Philistines for triumphing in
the death of king Uzziah. He had been as a serpent
to them, had bitten them, had smitten them, had
brought them very low; (2 Chron. xxvi. 6.) he
warred against the Philistines , broke down their
walls, and built cities among them; but when Uz¬
ziah died, or rather abdicated, it was told with jov
in Gath, and f lublished in the streets of Askelon. It
is inhuman thus to rejoice in our neighbour’s fall;
but let them not be secure, for though, when Uzzi¬
ah was dead, they made reprisals upon Ahaz, and
took many of the cities of Judah, (2 Chron. xxviii.
18.) yet out of the root of Uzziah should come a
cockatrice, a more formidable enemy than Uzziah
was, even Hezekiali, the fruit of whose government
should be to them a fiery flying serpent, for he
should fall upon them with incredible swiftness and
fury: we find he did so; (2 Kings xviii. 8.) He
smote the Philistines even to Gaza. Note, If God
remove one useful instrument in the midst of his
usefulness, he can, and will, raise up others to carry-
on and complete the same work that they were em¬
ployed in, and left unfinished.
2. A prophecy of the destruction of the Philis¬
tines by famine and war. (1.) By famine; (u. 30.)
when the people of God, whom the Philistines had
wasted, and distressed, and impoverished, shall en-
jov plenty again, and the first-born of their floor
slum' feed, (the poorest among them shall have food
convenient,) then, as for the Philistines, God will
kill their root with famine; that which was their
strength, and with which they thought themselves
established as the tree is by the root, shall be starved
and dried up by degrees, as those die, that die by
famine; and thus he shall slay the remnant: those
that escape from one destruction, are but reserved
for another; and when there are but a few left, those
few shall at length be cut off, for God will make a full
end. (2.) By war; when the needy of God’s people
shall lie down in safety, {v. 30. ) not terrified with the
alarms of war, but delighting in the songs of peace,
then every gate and every city of the Philistines
shall be howling and crying, (v. 31.) and there shall
be a total dissolution of their state; for from Judea,
which lay north of the Philistines, there shall come
a smoke, a vast army raising a great dust, a smoke
that shall b<- the indication of a devouring fire at
hand: and none of all that army shall be alone in his
appointed times; none shall straggle or be missing
when they are to engage; but they shall be vigor¬
ous and unanimous in attacking the common ene¬
my, when the time appointed for the doing of it
comes. None of them shall decline the public ser¬
vice, as, in Deborah’s time, Reuben abode among
the sheepfolds, and Asher on the sea-shore, Judg.
v. 16, 17. When God has work to do, he will won¬
derfully endow and dispose men for it.
III. The good use that should be made of all
these events for the encouragement of the people of
God; (v. 32.) What shall one then answer the mes¬
sengers of the nations? This implies, 1. That the
great things God does for his people, are, and can¬
not but be, taken notice of by their neighbours;
they among the heathen make remarks upon them,
Ps. cxxvi. 2. 2. That messengers will be sent to
inquire concerning them. Jacob and Israel had long
been a people distinguished from all others, and
dignified with uncommon favours; and therefore
some, for good-will, others, for ill-will, and all, for
curiosity, are inquisitive concerning them. 3. That
it concerns us always to be ready to give a reason
of the hope that we have in the providence of God,
Vol. iv. — L
as well as in his grace, in answer to every one tho
asks it, with meekness and fear, 1 Pet. iii. 15. And
we need go no further than the sacred tinths of
God’s word, fora reason; for God, in all he does,
is fulfilling the scripture. 4. The issue of God’s
dealings with his people shall be so clearly and ma
nifestly glorious, that any one, every one, shall be
able to give an account of them to those that inquire
concerning them. Now the answer which is to be
given to the messengers of the nations, is, (1.) That
God is, and will be, a faithful Friend to his church
and people, and will secure and advance their in¬
terests. Tell them that the Lord has founded Zion.
This gives an account both of the work itself that
is done, and of the reason of it. What is Gcd
doing in the world, and what is he designing in all
the revolutions of states and kingdoms, in the ruin
of some nations, and the rise of others? He is, in all
this, founding Zion; he is aiming at the advance¬
ment of his church’s interests; and what he aims at
he will accomplish. The messengers of the nations,
when they sent to inquire concerning Hezekiah’s
successes against the Philistines, expected to learn
by what politics, counsels, and arts of war, he carried
his point; they are told that they were not owing to
any thing of that nature, but to the care God took of
his church, and the interest he had in it. The Lord
has founded Zion, and therefore the Philistines must
fall. (2.) That his church has, and will have, a de¬
pendence upon him; The poor of his people shall
trust in it, his poor pet pie who have been brought
very low, even the poorest of them; they more than
others, for they have nothing else to trust to; (Zcpli.
iii. 12, 13.) the poor receive the gospel, Matth. x\
5. They shall trust to this, to this great truth,
that the Lord has founded Zion; on this they shall
build their hopes, and not on an arm of flesh. This
ought to give us abundant satisfaction as to public af¬
fairs, that, however it goes with particular persons,
parties, and interests, the church, having God him¬
self for its founder, and Christ the Rock for its
Foundation, cannot but stand firm; The poor of his
people shall betake themselves to it; so some read
it; shall join themselves to his church, and embark
in its interests; they shall concur with God in his
designs to establish his people, and shall wind up
all on the same plan, and make all their little con¬
cerns and projects bend to that. They that take
God’s people for their people, must be willing to
take their lot with them, and cast in their lot among
them. Let the messengers of the nations know that
the poor Israelites, who trust in God, having, like
Zion, their foundation in the holy mountains, (Ps.
lxxxvii. 1.) are like Zion, which cannot be removed,
but abides for ever, (Ps. exxv. 1.) and therefore
they will not fear what man can do unto them.
CHAP. XV.
This chapter, and that which follows it, are the burthen of
Moab; a prophecy of some great desolation that was
coming upon that country, which bordered upon this
land of Israel, and had ollen been injurious and vexa¬
tious to it, though the Moabites were descended from
Lot, Abraham’s kinsman and companion, and though
the Israelites, by the appointment of God, had spared
them, when they might both easily and justly have cut
them off with their neighbours. In this chapter, we have,
I. Great lamentations made by the Moabites, and by the
prophet himself for them, v. 1 . .5. II. The great ca¬
lamities which should occasion that lamentation, and
justify it, v. 6 . . 9.
1. rpHE burden of Moab. Because in
JL the night Ar of Moab is laid waste,
and brought to silence; because in the night
Kir of Moab is laid waste, and brought to
silence: 2. He is gone up to Bajith, and
32
ISAIAH, XV.
to Dibon, the high places, to weep: Moab ji
shall howl over Nebo, and over Medeba;
on all their heads shall, be. baldness, and
every beard cut off. 3. In their streets they
shall gird themselves with sackcloth: on the
tops of their houses, and in their streets
every one shall howl, weeping abundantly.
4. And Heshbon shall cry, and Elealeh: their
voice shall be heard even unto Jahaz: there¬
fore the armed soldiers of Moab shall cry
out; his life shall be grievous unto him. 5.
My heart shall cry out for Moab; his fugi¬
tives shall flee unto Zoar, a heifer of three
years old : for by the mounting up of Luhith
with weeping shall they go it up; for in the
way of Horonaim they shall raise up a cry
of destruction.
The country of Moab was of small extent, but
very fruitful; it bordered upon the lot of Reuben on
the other side Jordan, and upon the Dead sea. Na¬
omi went to sojourn there, when there was a famine
in Canaan. This is the country which (it is here
foretold) should be wasted and grievously harass¬
ed; not quite ruined, for we find another prophecy
of its ruin, (Jer. 48. ) which was accomplished by
Nebuchadnezzar. This prophecy here was to be
fulfilled within three years, ( ch . xvi. 14.) and there¬
fore was fulfilled in the devastations made of that
country by the army of the Assyrians, which for
many years ravaged those parts, enriching them¬
selves with spoil and plunder. It was done either
by the army of Shalmaneser, about the time of the
taking of Samaria in the fourth year of Hezekiah,
(as is most probable,) or by the army of Sennache¬
rib, which, ten years after, invaded Judah.
We cannot suppose that the prophet went among
the Moabites to preach them this sermon; but he
delivered it to his own people, (1.) To show them,
that though judgment begins at'the house of God,
it shall not end there; that there is a Providence
which governs the world and all the nations of it;
and that to the God of Israel the worshippers of
false gods were accountable, and liable to his judg¬
ments. (2.) To give them a proof of God’s care of
them and jealousy for them ; and to convince them
that God was an Enemy to their enemies, for such
the Moabites had often been. (3. ) That the accom¬
plishment of this prophecy, now shortly, ( within
three years,) might be a confirmation of the pro¬
phet’s mission, and of the truth of all his other pro¬
phecies, and might encourage the faithful to depend
upon them.
Now concerning Moab, it here foretold,
1. That their chief cities should be surprised and
taken in a night by their enemy, probabiv because
the inhabitants, as the men of Laish, indulged them¬
selves in ease and luxury, and dwelt securely;
(v. 1.) Therefore there shall be great grief, be¬
cause in the night ytr of Moab is laid waste, and
Kir of Moab; the two principal cities of that king¬
dom. In the night that they were taken, or sack¬
ed, Moab was cut off. The seizing of them laid
the whole country open, and made all the wealth
of it an easy prey to the victorious army. Note, (1.)
Great changes and very dismal ones may be made
in a very little time. Here are two cities lost in a
night, though that is the time of quietness: let us
therefore lie down as those that know not what a
night may bring forth. (2. ) As the country feeds
the cities, so the cities protect the country, and
neither can say to the other, I have no need of thee.
i 2. That the Moabites, being hereDy put into th<
utmost consternation imaginable, should have re
course to their idols for relief, and pour out theit
tears before them; Cv. 2.) He, that is, Moab, es
pecially the king of Moab, is gone u/i to Bajitt., or
rather, to the house or temple bf Chemosh ; and
Dibon, the inhabitants of Dibon, are gone up to the
high places, where they worshipped their idols,
there to make their complaints. Note, It becomes
a people in distress to seek their God; and shall not
we then thus walk in the name of the Lord our God,
and call upon him in the time of trouble, before
whom we shall not shed such useless profitless tears
as they did before their gods?
3. That there should be the voice of universal
griT, all the country over. It is described here
elegantly and very a'ffectingly. Moab shall be a
vale of tears; a little map of this world, v. 2.
The Moabites shall lament the loss of Nebo and
Medeba, two considerable cities, which, it is likelv,
were plundered and burnt. They shall tear their
hair for grief, to that degree, that 'on all their heads
shall be baldness, and they shall cut off their beards,
according to the customary expressions of mourning
in those times and countries. When they go abroad,
they shall be so far from coveting to appear hand¬
some, that in the streets they shall gird themselves
with sackcloth; and perhaps being forced to use
that poor clothing, the enemies having stripped
them, and rifled their houses, and left them no other
clothing. When they come home, instead of ap¬
plying themselves to their business, they shall go up
to the tops of their houses, which were flat-roofed,
and there they shall weep abundantly, nay, they
shall howl, in crying to their gods': those that
cry not to God with their hearts, do but howl
vfion their beds, Hos. vii. 14. Amos viii. 3. They
shall come down with weefling; so the margin
reads it; they shall come down from their high
places and the tops of their houses, weeping as
much as they did when they went up. Prayer to
the true God is heart’s-ease, (1 Sam. i. 18.') but
prayers to false gods are not. Divers places are
here named, that should be full of lamentation, (v.
4. ) and it is but a poor relief to have so many fel¬
low-sufferers, fellow-mourners; to a public spirit it
is rather an aggravation, socios habuisse doloris —
to have associates in wo.
4. That the courage of their militia should fail
them; though they were bred soldiers, and were
well armed, yet they shall cry out, and shriek, for
fear, and every one of them shall have his life
become grier’ous to him; though it is a military' life,
which delights in danger, v. 4. See how easily
God can dispirit the stoutest of men, and deprive a
nation of benefit, by those whom it most depended
upon for strength and defence. The Moabites shall
generally be so overwhelmed with grief, that life
itself shall be a burthen to them. God can easily
make weary of life those that are fondest of it.
5. That the outcry for these calamities should
propagate grief to all the adjacent parts, v. 5. (1.)
The prophet himself has very sensible impressions
made upon Iris spirit by the prediction of it; “ My
heart shall cry out for Moab; though they are ene¬
mies to Israel, they are our fellow-creatures, rf the
same rank with us, and therefore it should grieve us
to see them in such distress, the rather because we
know not how soon it may be our own turn to drink
of the same cup of trembling.” Note, It becomes
God’s ministers to be of a tender spirit, not to de¬
sire the woful day, but to be like their Master, who
wept over Jerusalem, even then when he gave her
up to ruin; like their God, who desires not the
death of sinners. (2.) All the neighbouring cities
shall echo to the lamentations of Moab. The fu
gitives, who are making the best of their way t«
8.3
ISAIAH, XVI.
shift for their own safety, shall carry the cry to
Zoar, the city to which their ancestor Lot fled for
shelter from Sodom’s flames, which was spared for
his sake. They shall make as great a noise with their
cry, as a heifer of three years old does, when she
goes hiving for her calf, as 1 Sam. vi. 12. They
shall go up the hill of Luhith, as David went up the
ascent of mount Olivet, many a weary step, and all
in tears, 2 Sam. xv. 30. And in the way of Horo-
niam, (a dual termination,) the way that leads to
the two Beth-horons, the upper and the nether,
which we read of, Josh. xvi. 3, 5. Thither the cry
shall be carried, there it should be raised; even at
that great distance, a cry of destruction, that shall
be the cry; like, “Fire, fire, we are all undone.”
Grief is catching, so is fear, and justly, for trouble
is spreading, and when it begins, who knows where
it will end?
6. For the waters of Nimrim shall be de¬
solate: for the hay is withered away, the
grass faileth, there is no green thing. 7.
Therefore the abundance they have gotten,
and that which they have laid up, shall
they carry away to the brook of the wil¬
lows. 8. For the cry is gone round about
the borders of Moab ; the howling thereof
unto Eglaim, and the howling thereof unto
Beer-elim. 9. For the waters of Dimon
shall be full of blood : for I will bring more
upon Dimon, lions upon him that escapeth
of Moab, and upon the remnant of the land.
Here the prophet further describes the woful and
piteous lamentations that should be heard through¬
out all the country of Moab, when it should become
a prey to the Assyrian army. By this time the cry
is gone round about all the borders of Moab, v. 8.
Every corner of the country has received the alarm,
and is in the utmost confusion upon it. It is got to
Eglaim, a city at one end of the country; and to
Beer-elim, a city as far the other way. Where sin
has been general, and all flesh have corrupted their
wav, what can be expected but a general desolation?
T wo things are here spoken of, as causes of this
lamentation.
1. The waters of .Yimrim are desolate, (y. 6.)
The country is plundered and impoverished, and
all the wealth and substance of it swept away by
the victorious army. Famine is usually the sail
effect of war. Look into the fields that were
well watered, the fruitful meadows that yielded
delightful prospects, and more delightful pro¬
ducts, and there all is eaten up, or carried off' by
the enemy’s foragers, and the remainder trodden to
dirt by their horses. If an army encamp upon
green fields, their greenness is soon gone. Look
into the houses, and they are stripped too; (x>. 7. )
The abundance of wealth that they had gotten with
a great deal of art and industry, and that which they
have laid ufi with a great deal of care and confi¬
dence, shall they carry away to the brook of the
willows. Either the owners shall carry it thither
to hide it, or the enemies shall carry it thither to
pack it up, and send it home, by water perhaps, to
their own country. Note, (1.) Those that are
eager to get abundance of this world, and solicitous
to lay up what they have gotten, little consider
wh it may become of it, and in how little a time it
may be all taken from them. Great abundance,
by tempting the robbers, exposes the owners; and
they who depend upon it to protect them, often find
' it does but betray them. (2.) In times of distress,
great riches are often great burthens, and do but
increase the owner’s care or the enemies’ strength.
Cantabit vacuus coram latrone viator — The penny-
less traveller will exult, when accosted by a robber,
in having nothing about him.
2. The waters of Dimon are turned into blood,
(f • 9. ) 'Fhe inhabitants of the country are slain in
great numbers, so that the waters adjoining to the
cities, whether rivers or pools, are discoloured with
human gore, inhumanly shed like water. Dimon
signifies bloody; the place shall answer to its name.
Perhaps it was that place in the country of Moab,
where the water seemed to the Moabites as blood,
(2 Kings iii. 22, 23.) which occasioned their over¬
throw. But now, says God, I will bring more
upon Dimon, more blood than was shed, or thought
to be seen, at that time. I will bring additions upon
Dimon, (so the word is,) additional plagues; I have
yet more judgments in reserve for them; for all
this, God’s anger is not turned away. When he
judges, lie will overcome; and to the roll of curses
be added many like words, Jer. xxxvi. 32. See
here what is the yet more evil to be brought upon
Dimon, upon Moab, which is now to be made a
land of blood. Some flee, 'and make their escape,
others sit still, and are overlooked, and are as a rem¬
nant of the land; but upon both God will bring
lions, beasts of prey; (which are reckoned one of
God’s four judgments, Ezek. xiv. 21.) and these
shall glean up those that have escaped the sword of
the enemy. Those that continue impenitent in sin,
when they are preserved from one judgment, are
but reserved for another.
CHAP. XVI.
This chapter continues and concludes the burthen ol
Moab. In it, I. The prophet gives good counsel to the
Moabites, to reform what was amiss among them, and
particularly to be kind to God’s people, as the likeliest
way to prevent the judgments before threatened, v.
1 . . 5. II. Fearing they would not take this counsel,
(they were so proud,) he goes on to foretell the lament¬
able devastation of their country, and the confusion they
should be brought to, and this within three years, v.
6 . . 14.
1. OEND ye the lamb to the ruler of the
•O land from Sela to the wilderness,
unto the mount of the daughter of Zion.
2. For it shall be, that as a wandering bird
cast out of the nest, so the daughters of
Moab shall be at the fords of Arnon. 3.
Take counsel, execute judgment, make thy
shadow as the night in the midst of the
noon-day ; hide the outcasts, bewray not
him that wandereth. 4. Let mine outcasts
dwell with thee, Moab : be thou a covert
to them from the face of the spoiler: for the
extortioner is at an end, the spoiler ceaseth.
the oppressors are consumed out of the land.
5. And in mercy shall the throne be establish¬
ed , and lie shall sit upon it in truth in
the tabernacle of David, judging and seek¬
ing judgment, and hasting righteousness.
God has made it to appear that he delights not in
the ruin of sinners, by telling them what they mav
do to prevent the ruin; so he does here to Moab.
I. He advises them to be just to the house of Da¬
vid, and to pay the tribute they had formerlv cove¬
nanted to pay to the kings of his line; (v. 1. ) Send
ye the lamb to the ruler of the land. David made
the Moabites tributaries to him; (2 Sam. viii. 2.)
they became his servants, and brought gifts. After
wards they paid their tribute to the kings of Israel.
ISAIAH, XVI.
2 Kings iii. 4.) and paid it in lambs. Now the pro¬
phet requires them to pay it to Hezekiah. Let it
be raised and levied from all parts of the country,
from Sela, a frontier city of Moab on the one side,
to the wilderness, a boundary of the kingdom on
the other side: and let it be sent, where it should
be sent, to the mount of the daughter of Zion, the
city of David. Some take it as an advice to send a
lamb for a sacrifice to God the Ruler of the earth,
(so it may be read,) the Lord of the whole earth.
Ruler of' all lands; the land of Moab, as well as
the land of Israel; “Send it to the temple built on
mount Zion.” And some think it is in this sense
spoken ironically, upbraiding the Moabites with
their folly in delaying to repent, and make their
peace with God; “Now you would be glad to send
a lamb to mount Zion, to make the God of Israel
vour Friend; but it is too late, the decree has
brought forth, the consumption is determined, and
the daughters of Moab shall be cast out as a wan¬
dering bird,” v. 2. I rather take it as good advice
seriously given, like that of Daniel to Nebuchad¬
nezzar then when he. was reading him his doom;
(Dan. iv. 27.) Break off thy sins by righteousness,
if it may be a lengthening of thy tranquillity. And
as it is applicable to the great gospel-duty of sub¬
mission to Christ, as the Ruler of the land, and our
Ruler, “ Send him the lamb, the best you have,
vourselves a living sacrifice. When you come to
God the great Ruler, come in the name of the
Lamb, the Lamb of God. For else it shall be,”
so we may read it, f. 2.) “ that as a wandering,
ird cast out of the nest, so shall the daughters of
Moab be. If you will not pay your quit-rent, your
ist tribute to the king of Judah, you shall be turned
tut of your houses: the daughters of Moab (the
country-villages, or the women of your country)
shall nutter about the fords of Arnon, attempting
that way to make their escape to some other land,
like a wandering bird thrown out of the nest half-
fledged. ” Those that will not submit to Christ,
nor be gathered under the shadow of his wings,
shall be as a bird that wanders from her nest, that
shall either be snatched up by the next bird of
prey, or shall wander endlessly in continual frights.
Those that will not yield to the fear of God, shall
be made to yield to the fear of every thing else.
II. He advises them to be kind to the seed of Is¬
rael; (y. 3.) “Take counsel, call a convention,
and consult among yourselves what is fit to be done
in the present critical juncture; and you will find
it your best way to execute judgment, to reverse
all the unrighteous decrees you have made, by
which you have put hardships upon the people of
God; and, in token of your repentance for them,
study now how to oblige them, and this shall be ac¬
cepted of God more than all burnt-offering and sa¬
crifice.”
1. The prophet foresaw some storm coming upon
the people of God, perhaps the good people of the
ten tribes, or of the two and a half on the other
side Jordan, whose country joined to that of Moab,
and who, by the merciful providence of God, es¬
caped the mry of the Assyrian army, had their
lives given them for a prey, and were reserved for
better times, but were put to the utmost extremity
to shift for their own safety. The danger and trou¬
ble they were in, were like the scorching heat at
noon; the face of the spoiler was very fierce upon
them, and the oppressor and extortioner were ready
to swallow them up.
2. He bespeaks a shelter for them in the land of
Moab, when their own land was made disagreeable
i i them. This judgment they must execute; thus
wisely must they do for themselves, and thus kindly
must they deal with the people of God. If they
would themselves continue in their habitations, let
them now open their doors to the distressed dis¬
persed members of God’s church, and be to them
like a cool shade to those that bear the burthen and
heat of the day. Let them not discover those that
absconded among them, nor deliver them up to the
pursuers that made search for them; “Bewray not
him that wandereth, nor deliver him up,” (as the
Edomites did, Obad. xiii. 14.) “but hide the out¬
casts.” This was that good work by which Ra-
hab’s faith was justified, and proved to be sincere;
(Heb. xi. 31.) “ Nay, do not only hide them for a
time, but, if there be occasion, let them be natu¬
ralized; let mine outcasts dwell with thee, Moab;
find a lodging for them, and be thou a covert to
them. Let them be taken under the protection of
the government, though they are but poor, and
likely to be achargeto thee.” Note, (1.) It is often
the lot even of those who are Israelites indeed, to
be outcasts, driven out of house and harbour, by
persecution or war, Heb. xi. 37. (2.) God owns
them, when men reject and disown them. They
are outcasts, but they are mine outcasts. The
Lord knows them that are his, wherever he finds
them, even there where no one else knows them.
(3.) God will find a restand shelter for his outcasts;
for though they are persecuted, they are not for¬
saken. He will himself be their Dwelling-Place,
if they have no other, and in him they shall be at
home. (4.) God can, when he pleases, raise up
friends for his people, even among Moabites, when
they can find none in all the land of Israel, that
can and dare shelter them. The earth often helps
the woman. Rev. xii. 16. (5. ) Those that expect
to find favour when they are in trouble themselves,
must show favour to those that are in trouble; and
what service is done to God’s outcasts, shall, no
doubt, be recompensed one way or other.
3. He assures them of the mercy God had in
store for his people. (1.) That they should not
long need their kindness, or be troublesome to them,
for the extortioner is almost at an end already, and
the spoiler ceases. God’s people shall not be long
outcasts, they shall have tribulation ten days, (Re-.',
ii. 10.) and that is all. The spoiler would never
cease spoiling, if he might have his will; but God
has him in a chain. Hitherto he shall go, but no
further. (2.) That they should, ere long, be in a
capacity to return their kindness; (x>. 5.) “Though
the throne of the ten tribes be sunk and overturn¬
ed, yet the throne of David shall be established in
mercy, by the mercy they received from God, and
the mercy they show to others; and by the same
methods may your throne be established if you
please.” It would engage great men to be kind to
the people of God, if they would but observe, as
they easily might, how often that brings the bless¬
ing of God upon kingdoms and families. “Make
Hezekiah your friend, for you will find it your inte¬
rest to do so, upon the account both of the grace of
God in him, and the presence of God with him.
He shall sit upon the throne in truth, and then he
does indeed sit in honour, and sit fast. Then he
shall sit judging, and will then be a protector to
those that have been a shelter to the people of
God.” And see in him the character of a good
magistrate. [1.] He shall seek judgment; he shall
seek occasions of doing right to those that are wr< ag¬
ed, and shall punish the injurious even before they
are complained of: or, he shall diligently search
into every cause brought before him, that he may
find where the right lies. [2.] He shall hasten
righteousness, and not delay to do justice, nor keep
those long waiting, that make application to himfot
the redress of their grievances. Though he seeks
judgment, and deliberates upon it, yet he does not,
under pretence of that, stay the progress of the
streams of justice. Let the Moabites take exam
35
ISAIAH, XVI.
pit by this, and then assure themselves that their
state shall be established.
6. We have heard of the pride of JVloab;
he is very proud: even of his haughtiness,
and his pride, and his wrath : but his lies
shall not be so. 7. Therefore shall Moab
howl for Moab, every one shall howl : for
the foundations of Kir-hareseth shall ye
mourn; surely they are stricken. 8. For
the fields of Heshbon languish, and the
vine of Sibmah: the lords of the heathen
have broken down the principal plants
thereof, they are come even unto Jazer,
they wandered through the wilderness; her
branches are stretched out, they are gone
over the sea : 9. Therefore I will bewail
with the weeping of Jazer the vine of Sib¬
mah : I will water thee with my tears, O
Heshbon, and Elealeh ; for the shouting for
thy summer-fruits, and for thy harvest, is
fallen. 10. And gladness is taken away,
and joy out of the plentiful field; and in the
vineyards there shall be no singing, neither
shall there be shouting: the treaders shall
tread out no wine in their presses ; I have
made their rm/r/ge-shouting to cease. 11.
Wherefore my bowels shall sound like a
harp for Moab, and mine inward parts for
Kir-haresh. 12. And it shall come to pass,
when it is seen that Moab is weary on the
high place, that he shall come to his sanc¬
tuary to pray; but he shall not prevail. 13.
This is the word that the Lord hath spoken
concerning Moab since that time. 1 4. But
now the Lord hath spoken, saying, Within
three years, as the years of a hireling, and
the glory of Moab shall be contemned, with
all that great multitude ; and the remnant
shall be very small and feeble.
Here we have,
1. The sins with which Moab is charged, v. 6.
The prophet seems to check himself for going about
to give good counsel to the Moabites, concluding
they would not take the advice he gave them. He
told them their duty, (whether they would hear, or
whether they would forbear,) but despairs of work¬
ing any good upon them; he would have healed
them, but they would not be healed. They that
will not be counselled, cannot be helped. Their sins
were, 1. Pride; this is most insisted upon; for per¬
haps there are more precious souls ruined by pride
than by any one lust whatsoever. The Moabites
were notorious for this; IVe have heard of the firide
of Moab ; it is what all their neighbours cry out
sname upon them for; he is very proud; the body
of the nation is so, forgetting the baseness of their
original, and the brand of infamy fastened upon them
by that Law of God, which forbade a Moabite to
enter into the congregation of the Lord for ever.
Dent xxiii. 3. We have heard of his haughtiness
and his firide; it is not the rash and rigid censure
of one or two concerning them, but it is the charac¬
ter which all that know them will give of them ;
they are a proud people: and therefore they will
not take good counsel when it is given them, they
think themselves too wise to be advised; therefore
they will not take example by Hezekiah to do justly
and love mercy; they scorn to make him their pat¬
tern, for they think themselves able to teach him.
They are proud, and therefore will not be subject
to God himself, nor regard the warnings he gives
them. The wicked, in the firide of his countenance,
will not seek after God: they are proud, and there
fore will not entertain and protect God’s outcasts,
they scorn to have any thing to do with them: but
this is not all, 2. We have heard of his wrath too,
(for those that are very proud, are commonly '
passionate,) particularly his wrath against the peo¬
ple of God, whom therefore he will rather per.m
cute than protect. 3. It is with his lies that he gab, ,
the gratifications of his pride and his passion; bu*
his lies shall not be so, he shall not compass his
proud and angry projects, as he hoped he should.
Some read it, His haughtiness, his firide, and hit
wrath, are greater than his strength. We know
that if we lay at his mercy, we should find no merev
with him, but he has not power equal to his malice,
his pride draws down ruin upon him, for it is tbi
preface to destruction, and he has not strength to
ward it off.
II. The sorrows with which Moab is threatened;
(i>. 7.) Therefore shall Moab howl for Moab; ali
the inhabitants shall bitterly lament the ruin of
their country, they shall complain one to another,
every one shall howl in despair, and not one shall
either see any cause, or have any heart, to encou¬
rage his friend. Observe,
1. The causes of this sorrow. (1.) The destruc¬
tion of their cities; For the foundations of Kir-ha¬
reseth shall ye mourn; that great and strong city,
which had held out against a mighty force, (2 Kings
iii. 15.) should now be levelled with the ground,
either burnt or broken down, and its foundations
stricken, bruised and broken; so the word signifies;
they shall howl when they see their splendid cities
turned into ruinous heaps. (2.) The desolation of
their country. Moab was famous for its fields and
vineyards; but those shall all be laid waste by the
invading army, (v. 8, 10.) See, [1.] What a fruit¬
ful, pleasant country they had, as the garden of the
Lord, Gen. xiii. 10. It was planted with choic;
and noble vines, with principal plants, which read,
even to Jazer, a city in the tribe of Gad; the luxu¬
riant branches of their vines wandered, and wound
themselves along the ranges on which they were
spread, even through the wilderness of Moab, there
were vineyards there; nay, they were stretched out,
and went even to the sea, the Dead sea; the best
grapes grew in their hedge-rows. [2.] How merry
and pleasant they had been in it; many a time they
had shouted for their summer-fruits, and for their
harvest, as the country people sometimes do with
us, when they have cut down all their com. They
had had joy and gladness in their fields and vine¬
yards, singing and shouting at the treading of their
grapes; nothing is said of theirpraising God for their
abundance, and giving him the glory of it. If they
had made it the matter of their thanksgiving, they
might still have had it the matter of their rejoicing,
but they made it the food and fuel of their lusts;
see therefore, [3.] How they should be stripped of
all; the fields shall languish, all the fruits of them
being carried away, or trodden down; they cannot
now enrich their owners as they have done, and
therefore they languish. The soldiers, called here
the lords of the heathen, shall break down all the
plants, though they were principal plants, the
choicest that could be got Now the shouting for
the enjoyment of the summer-fruits is fallen, and L
turned into howling for the loss of them; the joy of
harvest is ceased, there is no more singing, no more
shouting, for the treadiqg out of wine: they have
ISAIAH, XVII.
not what they have had to rejoice in, nor have they j|
a disposition to rejoice, the ruin of their country has |
marred their mirth. Note, First, God can easily :
change the note of those that are most addicted to [
mirth and pleasure, can soon turn their laughter |
into mourning, and their joy into heaviness. Sc- j
condly, Joy in God is, upon this account, far better !
than the iov of harvest, that it is what we cannot be !
robbed of, Ps. iv. 6, 7. Destroy the vines and the fig- !j
trees, and you make all the mirth of a carnal heart jl
to cease, Hos. ii. 11, 12. But a gracious soul can jj
rejoice in the Lord as the God of its salvation, even |j
then when the fig-tree does not blossom, and there i
is no fruit in the vine, Hab. iii. 17, 18. In God jj
therefore let us always rejoice with a holy triumph, jl
and in other things let us always rejoice with a holy j
trembling, rejoice as though we rejoiced not
2. The concurrence of the prophet with them in j
this sorrow; “/ mill with wee flint; bewail Jazer, and
the vine of Sibmah, and look with a compassionate
concern upon the desolations of such a pleasant
country; I will water thee with my tears, O Hesh-
bon, and mingle them with thy tears;” nay, (v. 11.)
it appears to be an inward grief; My bowels shall
sound like a harp for Moab; it should make such
an impression upon him, that he should feel an in¬
ward trembling, like that of the strings of a harp
when it is played upon. It well becomes God’s pro¬
phets to acquaint themselves with grief; the great
Prophet did so. The afflictions of the world, as well
as those of the church, should be afflictions to us.
See ch. xv. 5.
In the close of this chapter, we have,
*1.) The insufficiency of the gods of Moab, the
false gods, to help them, v. 12. Moab shall be soon
weary of the high-place, he shall spend his spirits
and strength in vain in praying to his idols; they
cannot help him, and he shall be convinced that
they cannot. It is seen that it is to no purpose to
expect any relief from the high-places on earth, it
must come from above the hills. Men are gener¬
ally so stupid, that they will not believe, till they
are made to see, the vanity of idols and of all crea¬
ture-confidences, nor will come off from them, till
they are made weary of them. But when he is
weary of his high-places, he will not go, as he
should, to God’s sanctuary, but to his sanctuary, to
the temple of Chemosh, the principal idol of Moab;
so it is generally understood; and he shall pray there
to as little purpose, and as little to his own ease and
satisfaction, as he did in his high-places; for, what¬
ever honours idolaters do their idols, they do not
thereby make them at all the better able to help
them; whether they are the Dii majorum Gentium
— Gods of the higher order, or minorum — of the
lower order, they are alike the creatures of men’s ]
fancy, and the work of men’s hands. Perhaps it
may be meant of their coming to God’s sanctuary:
when they found they could have no succours from
their high-places, some of them would come to the
temple of God at Jerusalem, to pray there, but in
vain; he will justly send them back to the gods
whom they have served, Judg. X. 14.
(2.) The sufficiency of the God of Israel, the only
true God, to make good what he had spoken against
them. _ _ 1 !
[1.] The thing itself was long since determined;
(v. 13.) This is the word, this is the thing, that the i
Lord has spoken concerning Moab, since the time :
that he began to be so proud and insolent, and allu¬
sive to God’s people. The country was long ago
doomed to ruin; this was enough to give an assur¬
ance of it, that it is the word which the Lord has
spoken; and as he will never unsay what he has
spoken, so all the power of hell and earth cannot
gainsay it, or obstruct the execution of it.
[2.] Now it was made known when it should be
done; the time was before fixed in the couns-1 of
God, but now it was revealed, The Lord has spoken
that it shall be within three years, v. 14. It is not
for us to know, or covet to know, the times and the
seasons, any further than God has thought fit to
make them known; and so far we may and must
take notice of them. See how God makes known
his mind by degrees; the light of divine revelation
shone more and more, and so does the light of divine
grace in the heart.
Observe, First, The sentence passed upon Moab;
The glory of Moab shall be contemned; it shall be
contemptible, when all those things they have glo¬
ried in, shall come to nothing. Such is the glory o»
this world, so fading and uncertain, admired awhik,
but soon slighted. Let that therefore which wiii
soon be contemptible in the eyes of others, be al¬
ways contemptible in our eyes, in comparison with
the far more exceeding weight of glory. It was
the glory of Moab that their country was very po¬
pulous, and their forces courageous, but where is
her glory, when all that great multitude is in a n. mi¬
ner swept away, some by one judgment, and seme
by another, and the little remnant that is left shall
be very small and feeble, not able to bear up un¬
der their own griefs, much less to make head
against their enemies’ insults? Let not therefore
the strong glory in their strength, nor the many in
their numbers.
Secondly, The time fixed for the execution of this
sentence; Within three years, as the years of a hire¬
ling, at the three years’ end exactly; for a servant
that is hired for a certain term keeps count to a day.
Let Moab know that her ruin is very near, and pre¬
pare accordingly. Fair warning is given, and with
it space to repent, which if they had improved as
Nineveh did, we have reason to think, the judg¬
ments threatened had been prevented.
CHAP. XVII..
Syria and Ephraim were confederate apr^inst -Judah, (ch.
vii. 1, 2.) and thev bein^ so closely linked together in
their counsels, this chapter, though it be entitled the
burthen of Damascus , (which was the head city of Sy¬
ria,) reads the doom of Israel too. I. The destruction
of the strong cities both of Syria and Israel is here fore¬
told, (v. 1 . .5.) and a^ain, v. 9. .1 1. II. In the midst of
judgment mercy is remembered to Israel, and a gracious
promise made that a remnant should be preserved from
the calamities, and should get good by them, v. 6 . . 8.
III. The overthrow of the Assyrian army before Jerusa¬
lem is pointed at, v. 12.. 14. in order of time, this chap¬
ter should be placed next after ch. ix. frr the destruc¬
tion of Damascus here foretold, happened in the reijrn
of Ahaz, 2 Kings xvi. 9.
1. f I MIL burden of Damascus. Behold
H Damascus is taken away from being
a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap. 2.
The cities of Aroer are forsaken; they shall
be for flocks which shall lie down, and none
shall make them afiaid. 3. The fortress
shall also cease from Ephraim, and the king¬
dom from Damascus, and the remnant of
Syria : they shall lie as the glory of the chil¬
dren of Israel, saith the Loud of hosts. 4.
And in that day it shall come to pass, thal.
the glory of Jacob shall be made thin, and
the fatness of his flesh shall wax lean. .5.
And it shall be as when the harvest-man
gathereth the corn, and '-eapeth the ears
with his arm ; and it shf Jl be as he that
gathereth ears in the valley of Rephaim.
We have here the burthen cf Damascus; the
87
ISAiAH
Chaldee Paraphrase reads it, The burthen of the
cufi of the curse to drink to Damascus in; and the
ten tribes being in alliance, they must expect to
pledge Damascus in this cup of trembling that is to
go round.
1. Damascus itself, the head city of Syria, must
be destroyed; the houses, it is likely', will be burnt,
at least the walls and gates and fortifications demo¬
lished, and the inhabitants carried away captive, so
that for the present it is taken away from being a
city, and is reduced, not only to a village, but to a
ruinous heap, v. 1. Such desolating work as this
does sin make with cities.
2. The country towns are abandoned by their in¬
habitants, frightened or forced away by their inva¬
ders; The cities of Aroer (a province of Syria so
called) are forsaken, (v. 2.) the conquered dare not
dwell in them, and the conquerors have no occasion
for them, nor did they seize them for want, but
wantonness; so that the places which should be for
men to live in, are for Jlocks to lie down in, which
they may do, and none will disturb or dislodge them.
Stately houses are converted into sheep-cotes. It is
strange that great conquerors should pride them¬
selves in being common enemies to mankind. But,
how unrighteous soever they are, God is righteous
in causing these cities to spue out their inhabitants,
who by their wickedness had made themseh’es vile;
it is better that flocks should lie down there, than
that they should harbour such as are in open rebel¬
lion against God and virtue.
3. The strong-holds of Israel, the kingdom of the
ten tribes, will be brought to ruin; the fortress shall
cease from Eflhraim, (i\ 3.) that in Samaria, and
all the rest. They had joined with Syria in invad¬
ing Judah very unnaturally; and now they that had
been partakers in sin, should be made partakers in
ruin, and justly. When the fortress shall cease
from Eflhraim, by which Israel shall be weakened,
the kingdom will cease from Damascus, by which
Syria will be ruined. The Syrians were the ring¬
leaders in that confederacy against Judah, and there¬
fore they are punished first and sorest; and because
they boasted of their alliance with Israel, now that
Israel is weakened, they are upbraided with those
boasts; The remnant of Syria shall be as the glory
of the children of Israel; those few that remain of
the Syrians, shall be in as mean and despicable a
condition as the children of Israel are, and the
glory of Israel shall be no relief or reputation to
them. Sinful confederacies will be no strength, no
stay, to the confederates, when God’s judgments
come upon them.
See here what the glory of Jacob is, when God
contends with him, and what little reason Syria will
have to be proud of resembling the glory of Jacob.
(1.) It is wasted like a man in a consumption, v.
4. The glory of Jacob was their numbers, that they
were as the sand of the sea for multitude; but this
glory shall be made thin, when many are cut off,
and few left. Then the fatness of their flesh, which
was their pride and security, shall wax lean, and
the body of the people shall become a perfect skel¬
eton, nothing but skin and bones. Israel died of a
lingering disease, the kingdom of the ten tribes
wasted gradually. God was to them as a moth,
Hos. v. 12. Such is all the glory of this world, it
soon withers, and is made thin; but there is a far
more exceeding and eternal weight of glory design¬
ed for the spiritual seed of Jacob, which is not sub¬
ject to any such decay; fatness of God’s house,
which will not wax lean.
(2.) It is all gathered and carried away by the
Assyrian army, as the corn is carried out of the
field by the husbandman, v. 5. The corn is the
glory of the fields; (Ps. lxv. 13.) but when it is
reaped and gone, where is the glory? The people
I, XVII.
I had by their sins made themselves ripe for ruin, arid
I their glory was as quickly, as easily, as justly, and
as irresistibly, cut down and taken away, as the
corn is out of the field by the husbandman. God’s
judgments are compared to the thrusting in of the
sickle, when the harvest is rifle, Rev. xiv. 15. And
the victorious army, like the careful husbandmen
in the valley of Rephaim, where the corn was ex¬
traordinary, would nit, if they could help it, leave
an ear behind, would lose nothing that they could
lay their hands on.
6. Yet gleaning-grapes shall be left in it,
as the shaking of an olive-tree, two or three
berries in the top of the uppermost bough,
four or five in the outmost fruitful branches
thereof, saith the Loud God of Israel. 7.
At that day shall a man look to his Maker,
and his eyes shall have respei t to the Holy
One of Israel. 8. And he shall not look to
the altars, the work of his hands, neither
shall respect that which his fingers have
made, either the groves or the images.
Mercy is here reserved in a parenthesis, in the
midst of judgment, for a remnant that should escape
the common ruin of the kingdom of the ten tribes.
Though the Assyrians took all the care they crukl
that none should slip out of their net, yet the meek
of the earth were hid in the day cf the Lord’s an¬
ger, and had their lives given them for a prey, and
made comfortable to them by their retirement to
the land of Judah, where they had the liberty of
God’s courts.
1. They shall be but a small remnant, a very few
which shall be marked for preservation; (v. 6.)
Gleaning-grafles shall be left in it; the body of the
people were carried into captivity, but here and
there one was left behind, perhaps one of two in a
bed, when the other was taken, Luke xvii. 34. The
most desolating judgments in this world are short of
the last judgment, which shall be universal, and
which none shall escape. In times of the greatest
calamity, some are kept safe, as in times of the
greatest degeneracy some are kept pure. But the
fewness of those that escape, supposes the captivity
of the far greatest part; those that are left, are but
like the poor remains of an olive-tree, when it has
been carefully shaken by the owner; if there be two
or three berries in the tofl of the uflflermost bough,
(out of the reach of them that shook it,) that is all.
Such is the remnant according to the election of
grace, very few in comparison with the multitudes
that walk on in the broad way.
2. They shall be a sanctified remnant; (v. 7, 8.)
these few that are preserved, are such as, in the
prospect of the judgment approaching, had repent¬
ed of their sins, and reformed their lives, and there¬
fore were snatched thus as brands r ut of the burn¬
ing; or, such as, being escaped, and becoming refu¬
gees in strange countries, were awakened, partly by
a sense of the distinguishing mercy of their deliver¬
ance, and partly by the distresses they were still in,
to return to God. (1.) They shall look up to their
Creator, shall inquire, Where is God my Maker ,
who giveth songs in the night, in such a night rf
affliction as this? Job xxxv. 10, 11. They shall
acknowledge his hand in all the events concerning
them, merciful and afflictive, and shall submit to
his hand; they shall give him the glory due to his
name, and be suitable affected with his providences;
they shall expect relief and succour from him, and
depend upon him to help them; their eyes shall have
respect to him, as the eyes of a servant to tne henc
of his master, Vs. cxxiii. 2.' Observe, It is our dur
88
ISAIAH
at all times to have respect to God, to have our eyes [
ever toward him, both as our Maker, the Author
of our being, and the God of nature, and as the Holy
One of Israel, a God in covenant with us, and the
God of grace; particularly, when we are in afflic¬
tion, our eyes must be toward the Lord, to pluck
our feet out of the net; (Ps. xxv. 15.) to bring us to
this is the design of his providence, as he is our
Maker, and the work of his grace, as he is the Holy
One of Israel. (2.) They shall look off from their
idols, the creatures of their own fancy, shall no lon¬
ger worship them, and seek to them, and expect
relief from them. For God will be alone regarded,
or he does not look upon himself as at all regarded.
He that looks to his Maker, must not look to the
altars, the work of his hands, but disown them and
cast them off; must not retain the least respect for
that which his fingers have made, but break it to
pieces, though it were . his own workmanship, the
groves and the images; the word signifies images
made in honour of the sun, and by which he was
worshipped, the most ancient and most plausible
idolatry, Deut. iv. 19. Job xxxi. 26. We have
reason to account those happy afflictions, which part
between us and our sins, and, by sensible convic¬
tions of the vanity of the world, that great idol, cool
our affections to it, and lower our expectations
from it,
9. Iii that day shall his strong cities be as
a forsaken bough, and an uppermost branch,
which they left, because of the children of
Israel: and there shall be desolation. 10.
Because thou hast forgotten the God of thy
salvation, and hast not been mindful of the
Rock of thy strength; therefore shait thou
plant pleasant plants, and shait set it with
strange slips: 11. In that day shait thou
make thy plant to grow, and in the morning
shait thou make thy seed to flourish ; but the
harvest shall be a heap in the day of grief
and of desperate sorrow.
Here the prophet returns to foretell the woful
desolations that should be made in the land of Israel
by the army of the Assyrians.
1. That the cities should be deserted; even the
strong cities, which should have protected the
country, shall not be able to protect themselves;
they shall be as a forsaken bough, and an upper¬
most branch, of an old tree, which is gone to decay,
forsaken of its leaves, and appears on the top of the
tree, bare, and dry, and dead; so shall their strong
cities look, when the inhabitants have deserted
them, and the victorious army of the enemy pillaged
and defaced them ; (n. 9. ) they shall be as the ci¬
ties (so it may be supplied) which the Canaanites
left, the old inhabitants of the land, because of the
children of Israel, when God brought them in with
a high hand, to take possession of that good land,
cities which they budded not As the Canaanites
then fled before Israel, so Israel should now fly be¬
fore the Assyrians. And herein the word of God
was fulfilled, that if they committed the same
abominations, the land should spue them out, as it
spued out the nations that were before them, (Lev.
xviii. 28.) and that as, while they had God on their
side, one of them chased a thousand, so, when they
had made him their Enemy, a thousand of them
should flee at the rebuke of one; so that in the cities
should be desolation, according to the threatenings
in the law, Lev. xxvi. 31. Deut. xxviii. 52.
2. That the country should be laid waste, v. 10,
11. Observe here, (1.) The sin that had provoked
God to bring so great a destruction upon that plea-
, XVII
sant land; it was for the iniquity of them that dice.,
therein; “ It is because thou hast forgotten the Goa
of thy salvation, and all the great salvations he has
wrought for thee, hast forgotten thy dependence
upon him and obligations to him, and hast not been
mindfui of the Hock of thy strength, not i nly who
is himself a strong Rock, but has been thy Strength
many a time, or thou hadst been sunk and broken
long since.” Note, The God of our salvation is the
Rock of our strength; and our forgetfulness and un¬
mindfulness of him are at the bottom of all sin;
therefore we have perverted our way, because we
have forgotten the Lord our God, and so we undo
ourselves. (2.) The destruction itself, aggravated
by the great care they took to improve their land,
and to make it vet more pleasant. [1.] Look upon
it at the time of the seedness, and it was all like a
garden and a vineyard; that pleasant land was re¬
plenished with pleasant plants, the choicest of its
own growth; nay, so nice and curious were the in¬
habitants, that, not content with them, they sent to
all the neighbouring countries for strange slips, the
more valuable for being strange, uncommon, far¬
fetched, and dear-bought, though perhaps they had
of their own not inferior to them. This was an in¬
stance of their pride and vanity, and (that ruining
error) their affectation to be like the nations. Wheat,
and honey, and oil, were their staple commodities;
(Ezek. xxvii. 17.) but not content with these, they
must have flowers and greens with strange names
imported from other nations, and a great deal c f
care and pains must be taken by hot-beds to make
these plants to grow, the soil must be forced, and
they must be covered with glasses to shelter them,
and early in the morning the gardeners must be up
to make the seed to flourish, that it may excel those
of their neighbours. The ornaments of nature are
not to be altogether slighted, but it is a folly to be
over-fond of them, and to bestow more time, and
cost, and pains, about them than they deserve, as
many do. But here this instance seems to be put in
general for their great industry in cultivating their
ground, and their expectations from it accordingly;
they doubt not but their plants will grow and flour¬
ish. But, [2.] Look upon the same ground at the
time of harvest, and it is all like a wilderness, a dis¬
mal melancholy place, even to the spectators, much
more to the owners; for the harvest shall be a heap,
all in confusion, in the day of grief and of desperate
sorrow. The harvest used to be a time of joy, of
singing and shouting; (ch. xvi. 10.) but this harvest
the hungry eat up, (Job v. 5.) which makes it a
day of grief, and the more, because the plants were
pleasant and costly, (v. 10.) and their expectations
proportionably raised. The harvest had some¬
times been a day of grief, if the crop were thin, and
the weather unseasonable; and yet in that case
there was hope that the next would be better: but
this shall be desperate sorrow, for they shall see
not only this year’s products carried off, but the
property of the ground altered, and their conquer¬
ors lords of it. The margin reads it, The harvest
shall be removed, (into the enemy’s country or camp,
Deut. xxviii. 33. ) in the day of inheritance, (when
thou thoughtest to inherit it,) and there shall be
deadly sorrow. This is a good reason why we
should not lay up our treasure in these things which
we may so quickly be despoiled of, but in that good
part which shall never be taken away from us.
12. Wo to the multitude of many people,
which make a noise like the noise of the
seas ; and to the rushing of nations, that
make a rushing like the rushing of mighty
waters! 13. The nations shall rush like the
rushing of many waters: but God. shall re-
ISAIAH, XVIII.
l»uke them, and they shall flee far off, and
shall be chased as the chaff of the moun¬
tains before the wind, and like a rolling
tiling before the whirlwind. 14. And, be¬
hold, at evening-tide trouble ; and before the
morning he is not. This is the portion of
them that spoil us, and the lot of them that
rob us.
These verses read the doom of those that spoil
and rob the people of God; if the Assyrians and Is¬
raelites invade and plunder Judah — if the Assyrian
army take God’s people captive, and lay their
country waste, let them know that ruin will be their
lot and portion.
They are here brought in,
1. Triumphing over the people of God. They
rely upon their numbers; the Assyrian army was
made up out of divers nations, it is the multitude of
many people, (v. 12.) by which weight they hope
to carry the cause; they are very noisy, like the
roaring of the seas; they talk big, hector and
threaten, to frighten God’s people from resisting
them, and all their allies from sending in to their
aid. Sennacherib and Rabshakeh, in their speeches
and letters, made a mighty noise, to strike a terror
upon Hezekiah and his people; the nations that fol¬
lowed them, made a rushing like the rushing of
many waters, and those mighty ones, that threaten
to bear down all before them, and carry away every
thing that stands in their way: the floods have lifted
u/i their voice, have lifted up. their waves ; such is
the tumult of the people, and the heathen, when
they rage, Ps. ii. 1. — xciii. 3.
2". Triumphed over by the judgments of God.
They think to carry their point by dint of noise; but
wo to them, (u. 12.) for he shall rebuke them;
God shall, one whom they little think of, have no
regard to, stand in no awe of; he shall give them a
check with an invisible hand, and then they shall
flee afar off. Sennacherib and Rabshakeh, and the
remains of their forces, shall run away in a fright,
and shall be chased by their own terrors, as the
chaff of the mountains which stand bleak before the
wind, and like a rolling thing before the whirlwind,
like thistle-down; so the margin; they make them¬
selves as chaff before the wind, (Ps. xxxv. 5.) and
then the angel of the Lord, (as it follows there,) the
same angel that slew many of them, shall chase the
rest God will make them like a wheel, or rolling
thing, and then persecute them with his tempest, and
make them afraid with his storm, Ps. lxxxiii. 13,
IS. Note, God can dispirit the enemies of his
church when they are most courageous and confi¬
dent, and dissipate them when they seem most
closely consolidated. This shall be done suddenly;
(?>. 14.) At evening-tide they are veiy troublesome,
and threaten trouble to the people of God; but be¬
fore the morning he is not, at sleeping time they are
c ist into a deep sleep, Ps. lxxvi. 5, 6. It was in
the night that the angel routed the Assyrian army.
God can in a moment break the power of his
church’s enemies, then when it appears most for¬
midable; and this is written for the encouragement
of the people of God in all ages, when they find
th mselves an unequal match for their enemies; for
th s is the portion of them that spoil us, they shall
th mselves be spoiled. God will plead his church’s
cause; and they that meddle, do it to their own hurt.
CHAP. XVIII.
Whatever country it is that is meant here by the land sha¬
dowing with wings} here is a wo denounced against it,
for God has, upon his people’s account, a quarrel with it.
I. They threaten God’s people, v. 1, 2. II. All the
neighbours are hereupon called to take notice what will
be the issue, v. 3. III. Though God seem unconcerned
Vol. iv.— M
8D
in the distress of his people for a time, he will at .ength
appear against their enemies, and will remarkably cut
them off, v. 4. .6. IV. This shall redound very much to
the glory of God, v. 7.
1. V%rO to the land shadowing with
▼ t wings, which is beyond the riv ers
of Ethiopia : 2. That sendeth ambassadors
by tiie sea, even in vessels of bulrushes upon
the waters, saying , Go, ye swift messengers,
to a nation scattered and peeled, to a peo¬
ple terrible from their beginning hitherto; a
nation meted out and trodden down, whose
land the rivers have spoiled! 3. All ye in¬
habitants of the world, and dwellers on the
earth, see ye, when he lifteth up an ensign
on the mountains; and when he bloweth a
trumpet, hear ye. 4. For so the Lord said
unto me, I will take my rest, and I will con¬
sider in my dwelling-place like a clear heat
upon herbs, and like a cloud of dew in the
heat of harvest. 5. For afore the harvest,
when the hud is perfect, and the sour grape
is ripening in the flower, he shall both cut
off the sprigs with pruning-hooks, and take
away and cut down the branches. 6. They
shall he left together unto the fow ls of the
mountains, and to the beasts of the earth:
and the fowls shall summer upon them, and
all the beasts of the earth shall winter upon
them. 7. In that time shall the present he
brought unto the Lord of hosts of a people
scattered and peeled, and from a people ter¬
rible from their beginning hitherto ; a nation
meted out and trodden under foot, whose
land the rivers have spoiled, to the place of
the name of the Lord of hosts, the mount
Zion.
Interpreters are very much at a loss where to find
this land that lies beyond the rivers of Cush: some
take it to be Egypt, a maritime country, and full of
rivers, and which courted Israel to depend upon
them, but proved broken reeds; but against this it
is strongly objected, that the next chapter is distin¬
guished from this by the title of the burthen of
Egypt. Others take it to be Ethiopia, and read it,
which lies near, or about, the rivers of Ethiopia, not
that in Africa, which lay in the south of Egypt, but
that which we call Arabia, which lav east of Ca¬
naan, which Tirhakah was now king of. He thought
to protect the Jews, as it were, under the shadow of
his wings, by giving a powerful diversion to the king
of Assyria, when he made a descent upon his coun¬
try, at the time that he was attacking Jerusalem, 2
Kings xix. 9. But, though by his ambassadors he
bid defiance to the king of Assyria, and encouraged
the Jews to depend upon him, God, by the prophet,
slights him, and will not go forth with him; he may
take his own course, but God will take another
course to protect Jerusalem, while he suffers the
attempt of Tirhakah to miscarry, and his Arabian
army to be ruined; for the Assyrian shall become a
present or sacrifice to the Lord of hosts, and to the
place of his name, by the hand of an angel, not by
the hand of Tirhakah king of Ethiopia, v. 7 This
1 is a very probable exposition of this chapter.
But from a hint of Dr. Lightfort’s in his Harmo-
i; ny of the Old Testament, I incline to understand this
90
ISAIAH, XVIII.
chapter as a prophecy against Assyria ; and so a
r.nntinu ition ot the prophecy in the three last verses
of tire foregoing chapter, with which therefore this
should be joined. That was against the army of
the Assyrians, which rushed in upon Judah, this
against the land of Assyria itself, which lay beyond
the rivers of Arabia, the rivers of Euphrates and
Tigris, which bordered on Arabia Deserta. And
in calling it the land shadowing with wings, he
seems to refer to what he himself had said of it, ( ch .
viii. 8.) that the stretching out of his wings shall Jill
thy land, O Immanuel. The prophet might per¬
haps describe the Assyrians by such dark expres¬
sions, not naming them, for the same reason that
St. Paul, in his prophecy, speaks of the Roman em¬
pire by a periphrasis, fie who now lelteth, 2 Thess.
li. 7. Here is,
I. l'he attempt made by this land (whatever it is)
upon a nation scattered and fieeled, v. 2. Swift
messengers are sent by water to proclaim war
against them, as a nation marked by Providence,
and meted out, to be trodden under foot. Whether
this be the Ethiopians waging war with the Assy¬
rians, or the Assyrians with Judah, it teaches us, 1.
That a people which have been terrible from their
beginning, have made a figure, and borne a mighty
sway, may yet become scattered and peeled, and
mav be spoiled even by their own rivers that should
enrich both the husbandman and the merchant.
Nations which have been formidable, and have
kept all in awe about them, may, by a concurrence
of accidents, become despicable, and an easy prey
to their insulting neighbours. 2. Princes and states
that are ambitious of enlarging their territories, will
still have some pretence or other to quarrel with
those whose countries they have a mind to; “ It is
a nation that has been terrible, and therefore we
must be revenged on it; it is now a nation scattered
and peeled, meted out and trodden down, and there¬
fore it will be an easy prey for us.” Perhaps it is
not brought so low as they represent it. God’s»peo-
ple are trampled on as a nation scattered and peel¬
ed, but whoever think to swallow them up, find
them still as terrible as they have been from their
beginning; they are cast down, but not deserted,
not destroyed.
II. The alarm sounded to the nations about, by
which they are summoned to take notice of what
God is about to do, i’. 3. The Ethiopians and As¬
syrians have their counsels and designs, which they
have laid deep, and promise themselves much from,
and, in prosecution of them, send their ambassadors
and messengers from place to place; but let us now
inquire what the great God says to all this: 1. He
lifts ufi an ensign upon the mountains, and blows a
trumpet, by which he proclaims war against the
enemies of his church, and calls in all her friends
and well-wishers into her service. He gives notice
that he is about to do some great work, as Lord of
hosts. 2. All the world is bid to take notice of it;
all the dwellers on earth must see the ensign, and
hear the trumpet, must observe the motions of the
Divine Providence, and attend the directions of the
divine will. Let all enlist under God’s banner,
and be on his side, and hearken to the trumpet of
his word, which gives not an uncertain sound.
III. The assurance God gives to his prophet, by him
to bi given to his people; though he might seem for
a time to sit by as an unconcerned spectator, yet he
would certainly and seasonably appear for the com¬
fort of his people, and the confusion of his and their
enemies; (v. 4.) So the Lord said unto me. Men will
nave their saying, but God also will have his; and
as we may be sure his word shall stand, so he often
whispers it in the ears of his servants the prophets.
When he says, “I will take my rest,” it is not as
f he were weary of governing the world, or as if
he either needed or desired to retire from it. and
repose himself; but t intimates 1. That the great
God has a perfect, u odisturbed, enjoyment of him¬
self, in the midst of all the tosses and changes <1
this world; the Lord sits even upon the floods un¬
shaken; the Eternal Mind is always easy. 2. That
sometimes he may seem to his people as if he tor k
not wonted notice of what is done in this lower world ;
they are tempted to think he is as one asleep, or as
one astonished; (Ps. xliv. 23. Jer. xiv. 9.) but evtn
then he knows very well what men do, and what he
himself will do.
(1.) He will take care of his people, and be a Shel¬
ter to them; he will regard his dwelling-place, his eye
and his heart are, and shall be, upon it for gor d conti¬
nually. Zion is his rest forever, where he will dwed;
and he will look after it; so some read it; he will lift
up the light of his countenance upon it, will consi¬
der over it what is to be done, and will be sure to do
all for the best; he will adapt the comforts and re¬
freshments he provides for them, to the exigencies
of their case; and they will therefore be acceptable,
because seasonable. [1.] Like a clear heat after
rain, (so the margin,) which is very reviving and
pleasant, and makes the herbs to flourish. [2.]
Like a dew and a cloud in the heat of harvest, which
are very welcome, the dew to the ground, and the
cloud to the labourers. Note, There is that in
God, which is a shelter and refreshment to his
people in all weathers, and arms them against the
inconveniencies of every change. Is the weathci
cooli1 There is that in his favour, which will warm
them. Is it hot? There is that in his faveur, which
will cool them. Great men have their winter-house
and their summer-house; (Amos iii. 15.) but they
that are at home with God, have both in him.
(2.) He will reckon with his and their enemies,
v. 5, 6. When the Assyrian army promises itself
a plentiful harvest in the taking of Jerusali m, and
the plundering of that rich city, when the bud of
that project is perfect, before the harvest is gather¬
ed in, while the sour grape of their enmity to He-
zekiah and his people is ripening in the flower, and
the design is just ready to put in execution, God
shall destroy that army as easily as the husbandman
cuts off the sprigs of the vine with pruning-hooks,
or, because the grape is sour, and good for nothing,
and will not be cured, takes away, and cuts down,
the branches. This seems to point at the overthrow
of the Assyrian army by a destroying angel; when
the dead bodies of the soldiers were scattered like
the branches and sprigs of a wild vine, which the
husbandman has cut to pieces. And they shall be
left to the fowls of the mountains, and 'the beasts of
the earth, to prey upon, both winter and summer;
for as God’s people are protected all seasons of the
year, both in cold and heat, (i>. 4.) so their ene mies
are at all seasons exposed; birds and beasts of prey
shall both summer and winter upon them, till they
are quite ruined.
IV. The tribute of praise which should be brought
to God from all this, v. 7. In that time, when this
shall be accomplished, shall the present be brought
unto the Lord of hosts. 1. Some understand this cf
the conversion of the Ethiopians to the faith rf
Christ in the latter days; of which we have the spe¬
cimen and beginning in Philip’s baptizing the Ethi¬
opian eunuch, Acts viii. 27. They that were a peo¬
ple scattered and peeled, meted out, and trodden
down, (v. 2.) shall be a present to the Lord; and
though they seem useless and worthless, they shall
be an acceptable present to him who judges of men
by the sincerity of their faith and love, net bv the
pomp and presperity of their outward condition.
Therefore the gospel was ministered to the Gen
tiles, that the offering up of the Gentiles might be
acceptable, Rom. xv. 16. It is prophesied (P*
91
TSAIAH, XIX.
Ixviii. 31 . j that Ethiopia should soon stretch out her
hands unto God. 2. Others understand it of the
spoil of Sennacherib’s army, out of which, as usual,
presents were brought to the Lord of hosts. Numb,
xxxi. 59. It was the present of a people scattered
and peeled. (1.) It was won from the Assyrians,
who were now themselves reduced to such a condi¬
tion as they scornfully described Judah to be in, v.
1. They that unjustly trample upon others, shall
themselves be justly trampled upon. (2.) It was of¬
fered by the people of God, who were, m disdain,
called a people scattered and peeled. God will put
honour upon his people, though men put contempt
upon them. Lastly, Observe, the present that is
brought to the Lord of hosts, must be brought to the
place of the name of the Lord of hosts; what is offer¬
ed to God, must be offered in the way that he has ap¬
pointed; we must be sure to attend him, and expect
him to meet us, there where he records his name.
CHAP. XIX.
As Assyria was a breaking rod to Judah, with which it was
smitten, so Egypt was a broken reed, with which it was
cheated; and therefore God had a quarrel with them
both. We have before read the doom of the Assyrians,
now here we have the burthen of Egypt, a prophecy con¬
cerning that nation; 1. That it should be greatly weak¬
ened and brought low, and should be as contemptible
among the nations as now it was considerable, rendered
so by a complication of judgments which God would
bring upon them, v. 1 . . 17. II. That at length God’s
'ioly religion should be brought into Egypt, and set up
there, in part by the Jews that should fly thither for re¬
fuge, but more" fully by the preachers of the gospel of
Christ, through whose ministry churches should be plant¬
ed in Egypt in the days of the Messiah, (v. 18.. 25.)
which would abundantly balance all the calamities here
threatened.
1. f' lnHE burden of Egypt. Behold, the
JL Lord rideth upon a swift cloud, and
shall come into Egypt; and the idols of
Egypt shall be moved at his presence, and
the heart of Egypt shall ‘melt in the midst
of it. 2. And I will set the Egyptians against
the Egyptians : and they shall fight every
one against his brother, and every one
against his neighbour; city against city,
and kingdom against kingdom. 3. And the
spirit of Egypt shall fail in the midst there¬
of; and I will destroy the counsel thereof :
and they shall seek to the idols, and to the
charmers, and to them that have familiar
spirits, and to the wizards. 4. And the
Egyptians will I give over into the hand of
a cruel lord ; and a fierce ’king shall rule
over them,saith the Lord, the LoRDof hosts.
5. And the waters shall fail from the sea,
and the river shall be wasted and dried up.
6. And they shall turn the rivers far away,
and the brooks of defence shall be emptied
and dried up : the reeds and flags shall wi¬
ther. 7. The paper-reeds by the brooks, by
the mouth of the brooks, and every thing
sown by the brooks, shall wither, be driven
away, and be no more. 8. The fishers also
shall mourn, and all they that cast angle
into the brooks, shall lament, and they that
spread nets upon the waters shall languish.
9. Moreover, they that work in fine flax,
and weave net-works, shall be confounded.
10. And they shall be broken in the purposes
thereof, all that make sluices and ponds for
fish. 1 1 . Surely the princesof Zoan are fools,
the counsel of the wise counsellors of Pha¬
raoh is become brutish : how say ye unto
Pharaoh, I am the son of the wise, the son
of ancient kings? 12. Where«re they? where
are thy wise men? and let them tell thee
now, and let them know what the Lord of
hosts hath purposed upon Egypt. 13. The
princes of Zoan are become fools, the prin¬
ces of Noph are deceived; they have also
seduced Egypt, even they that are the staj
of the tribes thereof. 14. The Lord hath
mingled a perverse spirit in the midst there¬
of : and they have caused Egypt to err in
every work thereof, as a drunken man stag-
gereth in his vomit. 1 5. Neither'shall there
be any work for Egypt, which the head or
tail, branch or rush, may do. 16. In that
day shall Egypt be like unto women ; and
it shall be afraid and fear, because of the
shaking of the hand of the Lord of hosts,
which he shaketh over it. 1 7. And the land
of Judah shall be a terror unto Egypt : every
one that maketh mention thereof shall be
afraid in himself, because of the counsel of
the Lord of hosts, which he hath deter¬
mined against it.
Though the land of Egypt had of old been a house
of bondage to the people of God, where they had
been ruled with rigour, yet among the unbelieving
Jews there still remained much of the humour of
their fathers, who said, Let us make a captain, and
return into Egypt. Upon all occasions they trusted
to Egypt for help, ( cti . xxx. 2.) and thither they
fled, in disobedience to God’s express command,
when things were brought to the last extremity in
their own country, Jer. xliii. 7. Rabshakeh up¬
braided Hezekiah with this, ch. xxxvi. 6. While
they kept up an alliance with Egypt, and it was a
powerful ally, they stood not in awe of the judg¬
ments of God ; for against them they depended upon
Egypt to protect them. Nor did they depend upon
the power of God, when at any time they were in
distress; but Egypt was their confidence. To pre¬
vent all this mischief, Egypt must be mortified,
and many ways God here tells them he will take to
do it.
I. The gods of Egypt shall appear to them to be
what they always really were, utterly unable to help
them; (v. 1.) The Lord rides upon a cloud, a swift
cloud, and shall come into Egypt! as a judge goes
in state to the bench to try and condemn the male¬
factors, or as a general takes the field with his troops
to crush the rebels, so shall God come into Egypt
with his judgments; and when he comes, he will
certainly overcome. In all this burthen of Egypt
here is ne mention of any foreign enemy invading
them; but God himself will come against them, and
raise up the causes of their destruction from among
themselves. He comes upon a cloud, above the
reach of opposition or resistance. He comes apace,
upon a swift cloud; for tin ir judgment lingers not,
when the time is come. He rides upon the wings
of the wind, and far excelling the greatest pomp
and splendour of earthly princes; he makes the clouds
99
ISAIAH, XIX.
his chariots, Ps. xvm. 9. — civ. 3. When he comes, j
l he idols of Egypt shall be moved, sh:dl be removed,
.n his presence, and perhaps be made to fall, as
D.igon did before the ark. Isis, Osiris, and Apis,
those celebrated idols of Egypt, being found unable
to relieve their worshippers, shall be disowned and
rejected by them. Idolatry had got deeper rooting
in Egypt than in any land besides, even the most
absurd idolatries; and yet now the idols shall be
moved, and they shall be ashamed of them. When
the Lord brought Israel out of Egypt, he executed
judgments upon the gods of the Egyptians; (Numb,
xxxiii. 4.) no marvel then if, when he comes, they
begin to tremble. The Egyptians shall seek to the
idols, when they are at their wits’ end, and consult
the charmers and wizards; (x>. 3.) but all in vain;
they see their ruin hastening on them notwith¬
standing.
II. The militia of Egypt, that had been famed
for their valour, shall be quite dispirited and dis¬
heartened. No kingdom in the world was ever in
a better method of keeping up a standing army than
the Egyptians were; but now their heroes, that used
to be celebrated for courage, shall be posted for
cowards; the 'heart of Egypt shall melt in the midst
of it, like wax before the tire; ( v . 1.) the spirit of
Egypt shall fail, (y. 3.) They shall have no inclina¬
tion, no resolution, to stand up in defence of their
country, their liberty, their property; but shall j
tamely and ingloriouslv yield all to the invader and
oppressor; The Egyptians shall be like women;
(y. 16.) they shall be frightened, and put into con¬
tusion, by the least alarm; even those that dwelt in
the heart of the country, in the midst of it, and
therefore furthest from danger, will be as full of
frights as those that are situate on the frontier. Let
not the bold and brave be proud or secure, for
God can easily cut off the spirit of princes, (Ps.
lxxvi. 12.) and take away their hearts, lob xii. 24.
III. The Egyptians shall be embroiled in endless
dissensions and quarrels among themselves. There
shall be no occasion to bring a foreign force upon
them to destny them, they shall destroy one ano¬
ther; {y. 2.) / will set the Egyptians against the
Egyptians. As these divisions and animosities are
their sin, God is not the Author of them, they come
from men’s lusts; but God, as a Judge, permits
them for their punishment, and by their destroying
differences corrects them for their sinful agree¬
ments. Instead of helping one another, and acting
each in his place for the common good, they shall
fight every one against his brother and neighbour,
whom he ought to love as himself; city against city,
and kingdom against kingdom. Egypt was then
divided into twelve provinces, or dynasties; but
Psammetichus, the governor of one of them, by set¬
ting them it variance with one another, at length
made himself master of them all. A kingdom, thus
divided against itself, would soon be brought to deso¬
lation. En quo discordia civis perduxit miseros!
— 0 the wretchedness brought upon a people by their
disagreements among themselves! It is brought to
this by a perverse spirit, a spirit of contradiction,
which the Lord would mingle as an intoxicating
draught made up of several ingredients, for the
Egyptians, x». 14. One party shall be for a thing,
for no other reason than because the other is against
it; that is a perverse spirit, which, if it mingle with
the public counsels, tends directly to the ruin of the
public interests.
IV. Their politics shall be all blasted, and turned
into foolishness; when God will destroy the nation,
lie will destroy the counsel thereof, ( v . 3.) by taking
away wisdom from the statesmen, (Job xii. 20.) or
setting them one against another, as Hushai and
Ahithophel, or, by his providence, breaking their
measures even then when they seemed well laid; so
that the princes of Zoan are fools, they make fools
of one another, every one betrays his own folly, and
Divine Providence makes fools of them all, x'. 11.
Pharaoh had his wise counsellors, Egypt was fa
mous for such; but their counsel is all become bru¬
tish, they have lost all their forecast, one would
think they were become idiots, and were bereavt d
of common sense. Let no man glory then in his
own wisdom, nor depend upon that, cr upon the
wisdom of those about him; for he that gives under¬
standing, can, when he pleases, take it away. And
from them it is most likely to be taken away, that
boast of their policy, as Pharaoh’s c< unsellors heie
did, and, to recommend themselves to places < i
public trust, boast of their great unde rstanding. “ 1
am the son of the wise, of the God of wisdom, of
wisdom itself,” says one; “My father was an emi¬
nent privy-counsellor of note, in his day, for wis¬
dom: ’ or of the antiquity and dignity cf their fami¬
lies; “I am” (says another) “the son of ancient
kings.” The nohlesof Egypt boasted much of their
antiquity, producing fabulous records of their suc¬
cession for above 10,000 years. This humour pre¬
vailed much among them about this time, as ap¬
pears by Herodotus; their common boast being, that
Egypt was some thousands of years more ancient
than any other nation. “ But where are thy wist
men? (x). 12.) Let them now show their wisdom
by foreseeing what ruin is coming upon their nation,
and preventing it, if they can. Let them with all
their skill know what the Lord of hosts has purposea
upon Egypt, and arm themselves accordingly.
Nay, so far are they from doing this, that they
themselves are, in effect, contriving the ruin of
Egypt, and hastening it on, v. 13. The princes of
Noph are not only deceived themselves, but they
have seduced Egypt, by putting their kings upon
arbitrary proceedings:” (by which both themselves
and their people were soon undone;) “ the governors
of Egypt, that are the stay and corner-stones of the
tribes thereof, are themselves undermining it.” It
is sad with a people when those that undertake for
their safety are helping forward their destruction,
and the physicians of the state are her worst dis¬
ease; when the things that belong to the public
peace, are so far hid from the eyes of those that are
entrusted with the public counsels, that in every
thing they blunder, and take wrong measures; so
here, (x\ 14.) They have caused Egypt to err in
every work thereof; every step they took, was a
false step ; they always mistook either the end or the
means, and their counsels were all unsteady and un¬
certain, like the staggerings and stammerings of a
drunken man in his vomit, who knows not what he
says, nor where he goes. Sec what reason we have
to pray for our privy-counsellors and ministers of
state, who are the great supports and blessings of the
state, if God give them a spirit of wisdom, but quite
contrary, if he hide their heart from understanding.
V. The rod of government shall be turned info
the serpent of tyranny and oppression; [v. A.) '• The
Egyptians will I give over into the hand of a cruel
lord; not a foreigner, but one of their ow’n, one that
shall rule over them by an hereditary right, but
shall be a fierce king, and rule them with rigour:”
either the twelve tyrants that succeeded Sethon, or
rather Psammetichus that recovered the monarchy
again; for he speaks of one cruel lord. Now the
barbarous usage which the Egyptian taskmaster:-
gave to God’s Israel long ago, was remembered
against them, and they were paid in their own coil:
by another Pharaoh. It is sad with a people when
the powers that should be for edification are foi
destruction, and they are ruined by those by whom
they should be ruled, when such as this is the man¬
ner of the king; as it is described, in terrorem — in
order to impress alarm. 1 Sam. viii 11.
93
ISAIAH
VI. Egypt was famous for its river Nile, which
was its wealth, an 1 strength, and beauty, and was
id ilized by them. Now it is here threatened, that
the ■waters shall fail from the sea, and the river shall
be wasted and dried up, v. 5. Nature shall not
herein favour them as she has done. Egypt was
never watered with the rain of heaven, (Zech. xiv.
18. ) and therefore the fruitfulness of their country
depended wholly upon the overflowing of their river;
it rh.it therefore be dried up, their fruitful land will
so in be turned into barrenness, and their harvests
cease; Every thing sown by the brooks will wither
of course, will be driven away, and be. no more, v.
7. If the paper-reeds by the brooks, at the very
mouth of them, wither, much more the corn, which
lies at a greater distanc , but derives its moisture
from them. Yet this is not all; the drying up of
their rivers is the destruction, 1. Of their fortifica¬
tions, for they are brooks of defence, (t. 6. ) making
the country difficult of access to an enemy; deep
rivers are the strongest lines, and most hardly
forced. Pharaoh is said to be a great dragon lying
in the midst of his rivers, and guarded by them,
bidding defiance to all about him, Ezek. xxix. 3.
But these shall be emptied and dried up, not by an
enemy, as Sennacherib with the sole of his foot
dried up mighty rivers, (c/i. xxxvii. 25.) and as Cy¬
rus, who took Babylon by drawing Euphrates into
many streams, but by the providence of God, which
sometimes turns water-springs into dry ground,
Ps. evii. 33. 2. It is the destruction of their fish,
which in Egypt was much of their food, witness that
base reflection which the children of Israel made,
(Numb. xi. 5.) We remember the fish which we did
eat in Egypt freely. The drying up of the rivers
will kill the fish, (Ps. cv. 29.) and that will ruin
those who make it their business, (1.) to catch fish,
whether by angling or nets; (v. 8.) they shall la¬
ment and languish, for their trade is at an end.
There is nothing which the children of this world
do more heartily lament, than the loss of that which
they used to get money by: Ploratur lacrymis am-
issa pecunia veris — Those are genuine tears, which
are shed over lost money. (2.) To keep fish, that
it may be ready when it is called for. There were
those that made sluices and ponds for fsh, (v. 10.)
but they shall be broken in the purposes thereof;
their business will fail, either for want of water to
fill their ponds, or for want of fish to replenish their
water's. God can find ways to deprive a country
even of that which is its staple commodity. The
Egyptians may' themselves remember the fish they
have formerly eaten freely, but now cannot have
for money. And that which aggravates the loss of
these advantages by the river, is, that it is their own
doings; (r. 6.) They shall turn the rivers far away.
Their kings and great men, to gratify their own
fancy, will drain water from the main river to their
own houses and grounds at a distance, preferring
their private conveniencies before the public, and
so by degrees the force of the river is sensibly weak¬
ened. Thus many do themselves a greater preju¬
dice at last than they think of; [1. ] Who pretend to
be wiser than nature, and to do better for them¬
selves than nature has done. [2.] Who consult their
own particular interest more than the common
good. Such may gratify themselves, but surely
they can never satisfy themselves, who, to serve a
turn, contribute to a public calamity, which they
themselves, at long run, cannot avoid sharing in.
Herodotus tells us that Pharaoh-Necho, (who reign¬
ed not long after this,) projecting to cut a free pas¬
sage by water from Nilus into the Red sea, em¬
ployed a vast number of men to make a ditch or
channel for that purpose; in which attempt he im¬
paired the river, lost a hundred and twenty thousand
of his people, and yet left the work unaccomplished.
XIX.
VII. Egypt was famous for the linen manufac
ture; but that trade shall be ruined. Solomon’?
merchants traded with Egypt for linen yam, ;
Kings x. 28. Their country produced the best flax,
and the best hands to work it; but they that work
in fine flax, shall be confounded, ( v . 9. ) either fi r
want of flax to work on, or for want of a demand
for that which they have worked, or of opportunity
to export it. The decay of trade weakens and
wastes a nation, and by degrees brings it to ru:n.
The trade of Egypt must needs sink, for (n. 15. J
There shall not be any work for Egypt to be em¬
ployed in; and when there is nothing to be done,
there is nothing to be got. There shall be an uni¬
versal stop put to business, no work which cither
head or tail, branch or rush, may do; nothing ti r
high or low, weak or strong, to do, no hire, Zech.
viii. 10. Note, The flourishing of a kingdom de¬
pends much upon the industry of the people; and
then things are likely to do well, when all hands are
at work; when the head and top branch do not dis¬
dain to labour, and the labour of the tail and rush is
not disdained. But when the learned professions are
unemployed, the principal merchants have no stocks,
and the handicraft tradesman nothing to do, poverty
comes upon a people as one that travelleth, and us
an armed man.
VIII. A general consternation shall seize the
Egyptians; they shall be afraid, and fear, (v. 16.)
which will be both an evidc nee of a universal dc c:.\ ,
and a means and presage of utter ruin. Two things
will put them into this fright; 1. What they hear
from the land of Judah; that shall be a terror
to Egvpt, v. 17. When they hear of the desola¬
tions made in Judah by the army of Sennacherib,
considering both the near neighbourhood, and the
strict alliance that was between them and Judah,
they will conclude it must be their turn next to be¬
come a prey to that victorious army. When their
neighbour’s house was on fire, they could not but
see their own danger; and therefore ever)- one cf the
Egyptians, that makes mention of Judah, shall be
afraid in himself, expecting the bitter cup shortly
to be put into his hands. 2. What they see in their
own land. They shall fear, (v. 16.) because of the
shaking of the hand of the Lord of hosts, and (to 7. )
because of the counsel of the Lord of hosts; which,
from the shaking of his hand, they shall conclude he
has determined against Egypt as well as Judah. F< i
if judgment begin at the house cf God, where will it
end? If this be done in the green tree, what shall be
done in the dry? See here, (1.) How easily God c: n
make those a terror to themselves, that have been n< t
only secure, but a terror to all about them. It is but
shaking his hand over them, or laying it upon seme
of their neighbours, and the stoutest hearts tremble
immediately. (2.) How well it becomes us to fear
before God, when he does but shake his hand ever
us, and to humble ourselves under his mighty hand,
when it does but threaten us, especially when we
see his counsel determined against us; for who c n
change his counsel?
18. In that day shall five cities in the lan 1
of Egypt speak the language of Canaan, and
swear to the Lord of hosts: one shall he
called, The city of destruction. 19. In that
day there shall be an altar to the Lord in
the midst of the land of Egypt, and a pillar
at the border thereof to the Lord. 20. And
it shall be for a sign and for a witness unto
the Lord of hosts in the land of Egypt: for
they shall cry unto the Lord because of the
oppressors, and he shall send them a sa-
94
ISAIAH, XIX.
viour, and a great one, and he shall deliver
them. 21. And the Lord shall be known
to Egypt, and the Egyptians shall know the
Lord in that day, and shall do sacrifice and
oblation; yea, they shall vow a vow unto
the Lord, and perform it. 22. And the
Lord shall smite Egypt; he shall smite and
heal it: and they shall return even to the
Lord, and he shall be entreated of them,
and shall heal them. 23. In that day shall
there be a highway out of Egypt to Assyria ;
and the Assyrian shall come into Egypt,
and the Egyptian into Assyria; and the
Egyptians shall serve with the Assyrians.
24. In that day shall Israel be the third with
Egypt and with Assyria, even a blessing in
the midst of the land; 25. Whom the Lord
of hosts shall bless, saying, Blessed be Egypt
my people, and Assyria the work of my
hands, and Israel mine inheritance.
Out of the thick and threatening clouds of the
foregoing prophecy, here the sun of comfort breaks
forth, and it is the sun of righteousness. Still God
has mercy in store for Egypt, and he will show it,
not so much by reviving their trade, and replenish¬
ing their river again, as by bringing the true religion
among them, calling them to, and accepting them
in, the worship of the one only living and true God;
and these blessings of grace were much more valua¬
ble than all the blessings of nature, wherewith Egypt
was enriched. We know not of any event in which
this prophecy can be thought to have its full accom¬
plishment, short of the conversion of Egypt to the
faith of Christ, by the preaching (as is supposed) of
Mark the Evangelist, and the founding of many
Christian churches there, which flourished for many
ages. Many prophecies of this book point to the
days of the Messiah; and why not this? It is no
unusual thing to speak of gospel-graces and ordi¬
nances in the language of the Old Testament insti¬
tutions. And in these prophecies, those words, in
that day, perhaps, have not always a reference to
what goes immediately before, but have a peculiar
significancy pointing at that day which had been so
long fixed, and so often spoken of, when the day¬
spring from on high should visit this dark world.
Yet it is not improbable, which some conjecture,
that this prophecy was in part fulfilled when those
Jews who fled from their own country to take shel¬
ter in Egypt, when Sennacherib invaded their land,
brought their religion along with them, and, being
awakened to great seriousness by the troubles they
were in, made an open and zealous profession of it
..here, and were instrumental to bring many of the
Egyptians to embrace it; which was an earnest and
specimen of the more plentiful harvest of souls that
should be gathered in to God by the preaching of
the gospel of Christ. Josephus indeed tells us, that
Onias, the son of Onias the High Priest, living an
outlaw at Alexandria in Egypt, obtained leave of
Ptolemy Philometer, then king, and Cleopatra, his
queen, to build a temple to the God of Israel, like
that at Jerusalem, at Bubastis in Egypt, and pre-
1 ended a warrant for doing it from this prophecy
in Isaiah, that there shall be an altar to the Lord in
the land of Egypt; the service of God, Josephus af¬
firms, continued in it about 333 years, when it was
shut up by Paulinus, soon after the destruction of
Jerusalem bv the Romans: see Joseph. Jntia. 1. 13.
e. 6. and dc Bell. Judaic. 1. 7. c. 30. But that tem¬
ple was all along looked upon by 'he Dions 1-ws
as so great an irregularity, and an affront to the
temple at Jerusalem, that we cannot suppose this
prophecy to be fulfilled in it.
Observe how the conversion of Egypt is here de¬
scribed.
I. They shall speak the language of Canaan, the
holy language, the scripture-language; they shall
not only understand it, but use it; (v. 18.) they shall
introduce that language among them, and converse
freely with the people of God, and not, us they used
to do, by an interpreter, Gen. xlii. 23. Note, Con¬
verting grace, by changing the heart, changes the
language; for out of the abundance of the heart the
mouth speaks. Five cities in Egypt shall speak this
language; so many Jews shall come to reside in
Egypt, and they shall so multiply there, that they
shall soon replenish five cities; one of which shall
be the city of Heres, or of the sun, Heliopolis,
where the sun was worshipped, the most infamous
of all the cities of Egypt tor idolatry; even there
shall be a wonderful reformation — they shall speak
the language of Canaan. Or it may be taken thus,
as we render it, That for every five cities that shall
embrace religion, there shall be one (a sixth part
of the cities of Egypt) that shall reject it, and that
shall be called a city of destruction, because it re¬
fuses the method of salvation.
II. They shall swear to the Lord of hosts; not
only swear by him, giving him the honour of ap¬
pealing to him, as all nations did to the gods they
worshipped; but they shall by a solemn oath and
vow devote themselves to his honour, and bind
themselves to his service. They shall swear tt
cleave to him with purpose of heart, and shall wor¬
ship him not occasionally, but constantly. They
shall swear allegiance to him as their King, to
Christ, to whom all judgment is committed.
III. They shall set up the public worship of God
in their land; (v. 19.) There shall be an altar to
the Lord in the midst of the land of Egypt, an altar
on which they shall do sacrifice and oblation; (v.
21.) therefore it must be understood spiritually.
Christ, the great Altar, who sanctifies every gift,
shall be owned there, and the gospel-sacrifices of
prayer and praise shall be offered up; for by the
law of Moses there was to be no altar for sacrifice
but that at Jerusalem. In Christ Jesus all distinc¬
tion of nations is taken away; and a spiritual altar,
a gospel-church, in the midst of the land of Egypt,
is as acceptable to God as one in the midst of the
land of Israel; and spiritual sacrifices of faith and
love, and a contrite heart, please the Lord better
than an ox or bullock.
IV. There shall be a face of religion upon the na¬
tion, and an open profession made of it, discernible
to all who come among them; not only in the heart
of the country, but even in the borders of it, there
shall be a pillar, or pillars, inscribed, to Jehovah,
to his honour, as before there had been such pillars
set up in honour of false gods. As soon as a stranger
entered upon the borders of Egypt, he might soon
perceive what God they worshipped. Those that
serve God must not be ashamed to own him, but be
forward to do any thing that may be for a sign and
for a witness to the Lord of hosts, that even in the
land of Egypt he had some faithful worshippers,
who boasted of their relation to him, and made his
name their strong tower, or bulwark, cn their bor¬
ders, with which their coasts were fortified against
all assailants.
V. Being in distress, they shall seek to God, and
he shall be found of them; and this shall be a sign
and a witness for the Lord of hosts, that he is a God
hearing prayer to all flesh that come to him, v. 20.
See Ps. lxv. 2. When they cry to God by reason
of their oppressors, the cruel lords that shall rule
over them, (v 4.) he. shall be entreated of them;
95
ISAIAH, XX.
(e. 22.) whereas he had told his people Israel, who
had made it their own choice to have such a king,
that they should cry to him by reason of their king,
and he would not hear them, 1 Sam. viii. 18.
VI. They shall have an interest in the great Re¬
deemer. When they were under the oppression of
cruel birds, perhaps God sometimes raised them up
mighty deliverers, as he did for Israel in the days
of the judges; and by them, though he had smitten
the land, he healed it again; and, upon their return
to God in a way of duty, he returned to them in a
vay of mercy, and repaired the breaches of their
ottering state; for repenting Egyptians shall find
the same favour with God that repenting Ninevites
lid. But all these deliverances wrought for them,
is those for Israel, were but figures of gospel-salva-
"ion. Doubtless, Jesus Christ is the baviour, and
.lie Great One, here spoken of, whom God will
send the glad tidings of to the Egyptians, and by
whom he will deliver them out of the hands of their
enemies, that they may serve him without fear,
Luke i. 74, 75. Jesus Christ delivered the Gentile
nations from the service of dumb idols, and did
himself both purchase and preach liberty to the
captives.
VII. The knowledge of God shall prevail among
them, i'. 21. 1. They shall have the means of
knowledge; for many ages, in Judah only was God
known, for there only were the lively oracles found;
but now the Lord, and his name and will, shall be
known to Egyfit. Perhaps this may in part refer
to the translation of the Old T estament out of He¬
brew into Greek by the LXX., which was done at
Alexandria in Egypt, by the command of Ptolemy
king of Egypt; and it was the first time that the
scriptures were translated into any other language:
by the help of this, (the Grecian monarchy having
introduced their language into that country,) the
Lord was known to Egyfit, and a happy omen and
means it was of his being further known, v. 1. 2.
They shall have grace to improve those means; it
is promised not only that the Lord shall be known
to Egypt, but that the Egyptians shall know the
Lord; they shall receive and entertain the light
granted to them, and shall submit themselves to the
power of it. The Lord is known to our nation, and
yet I fear there are many of our nation that do not
know the Lord. But the promise of the new cove¬
nant is, that all shall know the Lord from the least
even to the greatest; which promise is sure to all
the seed. The effect of this knowledge of God is,
that they shall vow a vow to the Lord, and perform
it. For those do not know God aright, who either
are not willing to bind themselves to the Lord, or
do not make good these obligations.
VIII. They shall come into the communion of
saints; being joined to the Lord, they shall be added
to the church, and be incorporated with all the
saints.
1. All enmities shall be slain. Mortal feuds there
had been between Egypt and Assyria, they often
made war upon one another; but now there shall be
a highway between Egypt and jlssyria, ( v . 23.) a
happy correspondence settled between the two na¬
tions; they shall trade with one another, and every
tiling that passes between them shall be friendly.
The Egyptians shall serve, shall worship, the true
God with the Assyrians; and therefore the Assy¬
rians shall come into Egypt, and the Egyptians into
Assyria. Note, It becomes those who have com¬
munion with the same God, through the same Me¬
diator, to keep up an amicable correspondence with
one another. The consideration of our meeting at
the same throne of grace, and our serving with each
other in the same business of religion, should put
an end to all heats and animosities, and knit our
hearts to each other in holy love.
1 2. The Gentile nations shall not only unite with
each other in the gospel-fold under Christ the great
! Shepherd, but they shall all be united with the
| Jews. When Egypt and Assyria become partners
in serving God, Israel shall make a third with them,
j ( v . 24.) they shall become a threefold cord, not
J easily broken; the ceremonial law, which had long
been the partition- wall between Jews and Gentiles,
shall be taken down, and then they shall become
j one sheep-fold, under one shepherd. Thus united,
' they shall lie a blessing in the midst of the land,
j whom the Lord of hosts shall bless, v. 24, 25. (1.)
I Israel shall be a blessing to them all, because of
them, as concerning the flesh, Christ came; and they
were the natural branches of the good olive, to whom
did originally pertain its root and fatness, and the
Gentiles were but grafted in among them, Rem.
xi. 17. Israel lay between Egypt and Assyria, and
was a blessing to them, both by bringing them to
meet in that word of the Lord, which went forth
from Jerusalem, and that church which was first
set up in the land of Israel: Qui conveniunt in ali-
quo tertio, inter se conveniunt — They who meet in
a third, meet in each other. Israel is that third in
whom Egypt and Assyria agree, and is therefore a
blessing; for those are real and great blessings to
their generation, who are instrumental to unite those
that have been at variance. (2.) They shall all be
a blessing to the world; so the Christian church is,
made up of Jews and Gentiles; it is the beauty,
riches, and support, of the world. (3.) They shall
all be blessed of the Lord: [1.] They shall all be
owned by him as his. Though Egypt was formerly
a house of bondage to the people of God, and As¬
syria an unjust invader of them, all this shall now
be forgiven and forgotten, and they shall be as wel¬
come to God as Israel. They are all alike his peo¬
ple, whom he takes under his protection: they are
formed by him, for they are the work of his hands;
not only as a people, but as his people. They are
formed for him, for they are his inheritance, pre¬
cious in his eyes, and dear to him, and from whom
he has his rent of honour out of this lower world.
[2. ] They shall be owned together by him as jointly
his; his in concert; they shall all share in one and
the same blessing. Note, Those that are united in
the love and blessing of God, ought, for that reason,
to be united to each other in charity.
CHAP. XX.
^his chapter is a prediction of the carrying away of multi¬
tudes both of the Egyptians and the Ethiopians into cap¬
tivity by the king of Assyria. Here is, I. The sign by
which this was foretold, which was, the prophet’s going,
for some time, barefoot and almost naked, like a poor
captive, v. 1, 2. II. The explication of that sign, with
application to Egypt and Ethiopia, v. 3 . . 5. III. The
good use which the people of God should make of this,
which is, never to trust in an arm of flesh, because thus
it will deceive them, v. 6.
1 . TN the year that Tartan came unto
X Ashdod, (when Sargon the king of
Assyria sent him,) and fought against Ash¬
dod, and took it ; 2. At the same time spake
the Lord by Isaiah the son of Amoz,
saying, Go, and loose the sackcloth from off
thy loins, and put off thy shoe from thy foot.
And he did so, walking naked and barefoot.
3. And the Lord said, Like as my servant
Isaiah hath walked naked and barefoot
three years for a sign and wonder upon
Egypt and upon Ethiopia; 4. So shall the
king of Assyria lead away the Egyptians
prisoners, and the Ethiopians captives,
96
ISAIAH, XX.
young and old, naked and barefoot, even
with their buttocks uncovered, to tire shame
of Egypt. 5. And they shall be afraid and
ashamed of Ethiopia their expectation, and
of Egypt their glory. 6. And the inhabitant
of this isle shall say in that day, Behold,
such is our expectation, whither we flee
for help to be delivered from the king of As¬
syria : and how shall we escape ?
God here, as King of nations, brings a sore calam¬
ity upon Egypt and Ethiopia, but, as King of saints,
brings good to his people out of it. Observe,
I. The date of this prophecy; it was in the year
that Ashdod, a strong city of the Philistines, (but
which some think was lately recovered from them
by Hezekiah, when he smote the Philistines even
unto Gaza, 2 Kings xviii. 8.) was besieged and
taken by an' army of the Assyrians; it is uncertain
what year of Hezekiah that was, but the event was
so remarkable, that they who lived then, could by
that token fix the time to a year. He that was now
king of Assyria, is called Sargon, which some take
to be the same with Sennacherib; others think he
was his immediate predecessor, and succeeded Shal¬
maneser. Tartan, who was general, or commander-
in-chief, in this expedition, was one of Sennacherib’s
officers, sent by him to bid defiance to Hezekiah,
in concurrence with Rabshakeh, 2 Kings xviii. 17.
II. The making of Isaiah a sign, by his unusual
dress, when lie walked abroad. He had been a sign
to his own people of the melancholy times that were
come, and coming, upon them, by the sackcloth
which for some time he had worn, of which he had
a gown made, which he girt about him. Some
think he put himself into that habit of a mourner,
upon occasion of the captivity of the ten tribes;
others think sackcloth was what he commonly wore
as a prophet, to show himself mortified to the world,
and that he might learn to endure hardness; soft
clothing better becomes those that attend in king’s
palaces, (Matth. xi. 8.) than those that go on God’s
errands. Elijah wore hair-cloth, (2 Kings i. 8.) and
John Baptist, (Matth. iii. 4.) and those that pre¬
tended to be prophets, supported their pretensions
by wearing rough garments; (Zec'h. xiii. 4.) but
Isaiah has orders given him to loose his sackcloth
from his loins, not to exchange it for better clothing,
but for none at all, no upper garment, no mantle,
cloak or coat, but only that which was next to him ;
his shirt, we may suppose, waistcoat, and drawers;
and he must put off his shoes, and go barefoot; so
that, compared with the dress of others, and what
he himself usually wore, he might be said to go
naked. This was a great hardship upon the pro¬
phet, it was a blemish to his reputation, and would
expose him to contempt and ridicule; the boys in
the streets would hoot at him ; and they who sought
occasion against him, would say, The prophet is in¬
deed a fool, and the spiritual man is mad, Hos. ix.
7. It might likewise be a prejudice to his health,
he was in danger of catching a cold, which might
throw him into a fever, and cost him his life; but
God bade him do it, that he might give a proof of
his obedience to God in a most difficult command,
and so shame the disobedience of his people to the
most easy and reasonable precepts. When we are
in the way of our duty, we may trust God both with
our credit and with our safety. The hearts of that
people were strangely stupid, and would not be af¬
fected with what they heard only, but must be
taught by signs, and therefore Isaiah must do this
for their edification: if the dress was scandalous, yet
the design was glorious, and what a prophet of the
Lord needed not to be ashamed of.
III. The exposition of this sign, v. 3, 4. Tt was
intended to signify that the Egyptians and the Ethi¬
opians should be led away captives by the king of
Assyria, thus stripped, rr in rags and very shabby
clothing, as Isaiah was. Grd calls him his servant
Isaiah, because in this matter particularly he had
approved himself God’s willing, faithful, obedient
servant; and for this very thing, which perhaps
others laughed at him for, Grd gloried in him. To
obey is better than sacrifice; it pleases Gcd, and
praises him more, and shall be more praised by him.
Isaiah is said to have wa’ked naked and barefoot
three years, whenever in that time he appeared as
a prophet: but seme refer the three years, net to
the sign, but to the thing signified; he has walked
naked and barefoot; there is a step to the original:
provided he did so once, there was enough to give
occasion to all about him to inquire what was the
meaning of his doing so; or, as some think, he did it
three days, a day for a year; and this ft r a three
years’ sign and wonder, for a sign of that which
shall be done three years hence, or which shall be
three years in the doing. Three campaigns suc¬
cessively shall the Assyrian armv make, in spoiling
the Egyptians and Ethiopians, and carrying them
away captive in this barbarous manner; not cnly
the soldiers taken in the field of battle, but the in¬
habitants, young and old; and it being a very pitecus
sight, and such as must needs move compassion in
those that had the least degree of tenderness left
them, to see those who had gone all their davs well-
dressed, now stripped, and scarcely having rags to
cover their nakedness; that circumstance of their
captivity is particularly taken notice of, and fore¬
told, the more to affect them to whom this prophecy
was delivered. It is particularly said to be the
shame of Egypt, (v. 4.) because the Egyptians were
a proud people, and therefore when they did fall
intn disgrace, it was the more shameful to them:
and the higher they had lifted up themselves, the
lower was their fall, both in their c.wn eyes and in
the eyes of others.
IV. The use and application of this, v. 5, 6.
1. All that had any dependence upon, or corres¬
pondence with Egypt and Ethiopia, should now be
ashamed of them, and afraid of having any thing to
do with them. Those countries that were in dan¬
ger of being overrun by the Assyrians, expected
that Tirhakah, king of Ethiopia, with bis liumir
ous forces, should put a stop to the progress of their
victorious arms, and be a barrier to his neighbours;
and with yet more assurance they gloried that
Egypt, a kingdom so famous for policy and prowess,
would do their business, would oblige them to raise
the siege of Ashdod, and retire with precipitation :
but, instead of this, by attempting to oppose him,
they do but expose themselves, and make their
country a prey to him. Hereupon, all about them
are ashamed that ever they promised themselves
any advantage from two such weak and cownrdly
nations, and more afraid now' than ever they were
of the growdng greatness of the king of Assyria, be¬
fore whom Egypt and Ethiopia proved but as briers
and thorns put to stop a consuming fire, which do
but make it burn the more strongly. Note, Those
who make any creature their expectation and glory,
and so put it in the place of God, will, sooner or
later, be ashamed of it, and their disappointment in
it will but increase their fear. See Ezck. xxix. 6, 7.
2. The Jews in particular should be convinced of
their folly in resting upon such broken reeds, and
should despair of any relief from them ; (u. 6.) The
inhabitants of this Isle, the land of Judah, situated
upon the sea, though not surrounded by it; of this
country, so the margin: everyone shall now have
his eyes opened, and shall say, “ Behold, such is our
expectation, so vain, so foolish, and this is that
97
ISAIAH, XXL
which it will come to; we have fled for help to the |i
Egyptians and Ethiopians, and have hoped by them
to be delivered from the king of Assyria; but now
that they are broken thus, how shall we escape,
that are not able to bring such armies into the field
as they did?” Note, (1.) Those that confide in
creatures will be disappointed, and will be made
ashamed of their confidence, for vain is the help of
man, and in vain is salvation hoped for from the
hills, or the height and multitude of the mountains.
(2.) Disappointment in creature-confidences, in¬
stead of driving us to despair, as here, (How shall
we escape?) should drive us to God, to whom if we
flee for help, our expectation shall not be frustrated.
CHAP. XXI.
In this chapter we have a prophecy of sad times coming,
and heavy burthens; I. Upon Babylon, here called the
desert of the sea , that it should be destroyed by the Medes
and Persians with a terrible destruction, which yet God’s
people should have advantage by, v. 1 . . 10. II. Upon
Dumah, or Idumea, v. 1 1, 12. III. Upon Arabia, or Ke-
dar, the desolation of which country was very near, v. 13. .
17. These and other nations which the princes and peo¬
ple of Israel had so much to do with, the prophets of Is¬
rael could not but have something to say to : foreign af¬
fairs must be taken notice of as well as domestic ones,
and news from abroad inquired after as well as news at
home.
1. npHE burden of the desert of the sea.
JL As whirlwinds in the south pass
through; so it cometh from the desert, from
a terrible land. 2. A grievous vision is de¬
clared unto me ; The treacherous dealer
dealeth treacherously, and the spoiler spoil-
eth. Go up, O Elam: besiege, () Media:
all the sighing thereof have I made to cease.
3. Therefore are my loins filled with pain ;
pangs have taken hold upon me, as the
pangs of a woman that travaileth: I was
bowed down at the hearing of it; I was dis¬
mayed at the seeing of it. 4. My heart
panted, fearfulness affrighted me: the night
of my pleasure hath he turned into fear unto
me. 5. Prepare the table, watch in the
watch-tower, eat, drink : arise, ye princes,
and anoint the shield. 6. For thus hath the
Lord said unto me, Go, set a watchman,
let him declare what he seeth. 7. And he
saw a chariot with a couple of horsemen, a
chariot of asses, and a chariot of camels ; and
he hearkened diligently with much heed. 8.
And he cried, A lion : My lord, I stand con¬
tinually upon the watch-tower in the day¬
time, and I am set in my ward whole nights;
9. And, behold, here cometh a chariot of
men, with a couple of horsemen. And he
answered and said, Babylon is fallen, is
fallen; and all the graven images of her gods
he hath broken unto the ground. 10. O my
threshing, and the com of my floor: that
which I have heard of the Lord of hosts,
the God of Israel, have I declared unto you.
We had one burthen of Babylon before, {ch. 13.)
here we have another prediction of its fall; Goa
saw fit thus to possess his people with the belief of
this event by line upon line; because Babylon some¬
times pretended to be a friend to them, (as ch.
Vol. IV. — N
xxxix. 1.) and God would hereby warn them nut to
trust to that friendship, and sometimes was really
an enemy to them, and God would hereby warn
them not to be afraid of that enmity. Babylon is
marked for ruin; and all that believe God’s pro¬
phets, can, through that glass, see it tottering, see
it tumbling, even then when with an eye of sense
they see it flourishing, and sitting as a queen.
Babylon is here called the desert or / iluin of the
sea, for it was a flat country, and full i f lakes, or
loughs, (as they call them in Ireland,) like little
seas, and was abundantly watered with the many
streams of the river Euphrates. Babylon did but
lately begin to be famous, Nineveh having outshined
it while the monarch}’ was in the Assyrian hands;
but in a little time it became the lady of kingdoms;
and before it arrived at that pitch of eminence
which it was in Nebuchadnezzar’s time, God, by
this prophet, plainly foretold its fall, again and
again, that his people might not be terrified at its
rise, nor despair of reliet in due time when they
were its prisoners, Job. v. 3. Ps. xxxvii. £5, 36.
Some think it is here called a desert, because,
though it was now a populous city, it should in time
be made a desert. And therefore the destruction cf
Babylon is so often prophesied of by this evangelical
prophet, because it was typical of the destruction
of the man of sin, the great enemy of the New Tes¬
tament church, which is foretold in the Revelation
in many expressions borrowed from these prophe¬
cies, which therefore must be consulted and collated
by those who would understand the prophecy cf
that book. Here is,
I. The powerful irruption and descent which the
Medes and Persians should make upon Babylon; ( v .
1, 2.) They will come from the desert, from a ter¬
rible land. The northern parts of Media and Per¬
sia, where their soldiers were mostly bred, was
waste and mountainous; tenable to strangers that
were to pass through it, and producing soldiers that
were very formidable. Elam, (Persia) is summrned
to go up against Babylon, and in conjunction with
the forces of Media, to besiege it; when God has
work of this kind to do, he will find, though it be in
a desert, in a terrible land, proper instruments to
be employed in it. These forces come as whirl¬
winds from the south, so suddenly, so strongly, and
so terribly: such a mighty noise shall they make,
and throw down every thing that stands in their
way. As is usual in such a case, some deserters
will go over to them, the treacherous dealers toil l
deal treacherously. Historians tell us of Gadatas
and Gobryas, two great officers of the king of Baby¬
lon, that went over to Cyrus, and, being well ac¬
quainted with all the avenues of the city, led a party
directly to the palace, where Belshazzar was slain:
thus with the help of the treacherous dealers the
sfioilers spoiled. Some read it thus, There shall be
a deceiver of that deceiver, Babylon, and a spoiler
of that spoiler. Or, which comes all to one, The
treacherous dealer has found one that deals treache¬
rously, and the spoiler one that spoils, as it is ex-
gounded, ch. xxxiii. 1. The Persians shall p. vthe
abylonians in their own coin; they that by fraud
and violence, cheating and plundering, unrighteous
wars and deceitful treaties, have made a prey cf
their neighbours, shall meet with their match, and
by the same methods shall themselves be made a
prev of.
II. The different impressions made hereby upon
those concerned in Babylon.
1. To the poor oppressed captives it would be
yvelcome news; for they had been told long ago that
Babylon’s destroyer would be their deliverer; and
therefore when they hear that Elam and Media are
coming up to besiege Babylon, all their sighing will
be made to cease; they shall no longer mingle their
98
ISAIAH, XXL
rears with Euphrates’ streams, but resume their
uarps, and smile when they remember Zion, which,
before, they wept at the thought of. For the sigh-
■ng of the needy the God of pity will arise in due
rime; (Ps. xii. 5.) he will break the yoke from off
their neck, will remove the rod of the wicked from
off their lot, and so make their sighing to cease.
2. To the proud oppressors it would be a grievous
vision, (t>. 2. ) particularly to the king of Babylon
for the time being, and it should seem that he it is
who is here brought in, sadly lamenting his inevita¬
ble fate; (x>. 3, 4.) Therefore are my loins foiled
with j lain , pangs have taken hold upon me, &c.
which was literally fulfilled in Belshazzar, for that
very night in which his city was taken, and himself
slain, upon the sight of a hand writing mystic cha- 1
racters upon the wall, his countenance was changed,
and his thoughts troubled him, so that the joints of
his loins were loosed, and his knees smote one against
another, Dan. v. 6. And yet that was but the be¬
ginning of sorrows; Daniel’s decyphering of the
writing could not but increase his terror, and the
alarm which immediately followed, of the execu¬
tioners at the door, would be the completing of it.
And those words, The night of my pleasure has he
turned into fear to me, plainly refer to that aggra¬
vating circumstance of Belshazzar’s fall, that he
was slain on that night when he was in the height
of his mirth and jollity, with his cups and concu¬
bines about him, and a thousand of his lords revel¬
ling with him; that night of his pleasure, when he |
promised himself an undisturbed, unallayed enjoy¬
ment of the most exquisite gratifications of sense,
with a particular defiance of God and religion in the
profanation of the temple-vessels — that was the
night that was turned into all this fear. Let this
give an effectual check to vain mirth and sensual
pleasures, and forbid us ever to lay the reins on the
neck of them — that we know not what heaviness
the mirth may end in, nor how soon laughter may
be turned into mourning; but this we know, that for
all these things God shall bring us into judgment;
let us therefore mix trembling always with our joys.
III. A representation of the posture in which
Babylon should be found when the enemy should
surprise it; all in festival gaiety; (y. 5.) “Prepare
the table with a}l manner of dainties, set the guards,
let them watch in the watch-tower, while we eat
and drink securely, and make merry; and if any
alarm should be given, the princes shall arise, and
anoint the shield, and be in readiness to give the
enemy a warm reception.” Thus secure are they,
and thus do they gird on the harness with as much
joy as if they had put it off.
IV. A description of the alarm which should be
given to Babylon, upon its being forced by Cyrus
and Darius. The Lord, in vision, showed the pro¬
phet the watchman set in the watch-tower, near
the palace, as is usual in times of danger; the king
ordered those about him to post a sentinel in the
most advantageous place for discovery, and accord¬
ing to the duty of a watchman, let him declare what
he sees, v. 6. We read of a watchman thus set to
receive intelligence, in the story of David, (2 Sam.
xviii. 24.) and in the story of Jehu, 2 Kings ix. 17.
This watchman here discovered a chariot with a
couple of horsemen attending it, in which we may
suppose the commander-in-chief to ride; he then
saw another chariot drawn by asses or mules, which
were much in use among the Persians, and a chariot
drawn by camels, which were likewise much in use
among the Medes; so that (as Grotius thinks) these j
two chariots signify the two nations combined against
Babylon; or rather, these chariots come to bring ti¬
dings to the palace; compare Jer. li. 31, 32. One \
post shall run to meet another, and one messenger
:o meet another, to show the king of Babylon that
his city is taken at one end, while he is revelling a*
the other end, and knows nothing of the matter.
This watchman, seeing these chariots at some dis
tance, hearkened diligently with much heed, to re¬
ceive the first tidings. And ( v . 8.) he cried, A lion;
this word, coming out of a watchman’s mouth, no
doubt gave them a certain sound, and every body
knew the meaning of it, though we do not know it
now. It is likely that it was intended to raise at¬
tention; he that has an ear to hear, let him hear, as
when a lion roars : or he cried as a lion, very loud
and in good earnest; the occasion being very urgent.
And what has he to say? 1. He professes his con¬
stancy to his post assigned him ; “/stand, my lord,
continually upon the watch-tower, and have never
discovered any thing material, till just now; all
seemed safe and quiet. ” Some make it to be a com¬
plaint of the people of God, that they had long ex¬
pected the downfall of Babylon, according to the
prophecy, and it was not yet come; but withal a re¬
solution to- continue waiting, as Hab. ii. 1. I will
stand upon my watch, and set me upon the tower,
to see what will be the issue of the present provi¬
dences. 2. He gives notice of the discoveries he
had made; (y. 9.) Here comes a chariot of men,
with a couple of horsemen; a vision representing the
enemy’s entry into the city with all their force, or
the tidings brought to the royal palace of it.
V. A certain account is at length given of the
overthrow of Babylon. He in the chariot answered
and said, (when he heard the watchman speak,)
Babylon is fallen, is fallen; or, God answered thus
to the prophet inquiring concerning the issue of
these affairs; “ It is now come to this, Babylon is
surely and irrecoverably fallen; Babylon’s business is
done now. All the graven itnages of her gods he
has broken unto the ground .” Babylon was the
mother of harlots, of idolatry, which was one of the
grounds of God’s quarrel with her; but her idols
shall now be so far from protecting her, that some
of them shall be broken down to the ground, and
others of them, that were worth carrying away,
shall go into captivity, and be a burthen to the
beasts that carried them, ch. xlvi. 1, 2.
VI. Notice is given to the people of God, who
were then captives in Babylon, that this prophecy
of the downfall of Babylon was particularly intend¬
ed for their comfort and encouragement, and they
might depend upon it, that it should be accomplish¬
ed in due season, v. 10. Observe, 1. The title the
prophet gives them in God’s name, O my threshing,
and the corn of my floor; the prophet calls them
his, because they were his countrymen, and such as
he had a particular interest in and concern for; but
he speaks it as from God, and directs his speech to
those that were Israelites indeed, the faithful in the
land. Note, (1.) The church is God’s floor, in
which the most valuable fruits and products of this
earth are, as it were, gathered together and laid up.
(2.) True believers are the corn of God’s floor; hv
pocrites are but as the chaff and straw, which take
up a great deal of room, but are of small value, with
which the wheat is now mixed, but from which it
shall be shortly and for ever separated. (3. ) The
corn of God’s floor must expect to be threshed by
afflictions and persecutions. God’s Israel of old was
afflicted from her youth, often under the plougher’s
plough, (Ps. cxxix. 3. ) and the thresher’s flail. (4. )
Even then God owns it for his threshing, it is his
still; nay, the threshing of it is by his appointment,
and under his restraint and direction. The thresh¬
ers could have no power against it, but what is given
them from above. 2. The assurance he gives them
of the truth of what he had delivered to them,
which therefore they might build their hopes upon,
That which I have heard of the Lord of hosts, the
God of Israel, that, and nothing else, that, and no
99
ISAIAH, XXI
fiction of fancy o'" my own, have I declared unto
you. Note, In all events concerning the church,
past, present, and to come, we must have an eye to
God, both as the Lord of hosts and as the God of
Israel, who has power enough to do any thing for
his church, and grace enough to do every thing that
is for her good. Let us also diligently notice the
words of his prophets, as words received from the
Lord. As they dare not smother any thing which
he has intrusted them to declare, so they dare not
declare any thing as from him, which he has not
made known to them, I Cor. xi. 23.
11. The burden of Duniah. He calleth
to me out of Seir, Watchman, what of the
night? watchman, what of the night ? 12.
The watchman said, The morning cometh,
and also the night : if ye will inquire, in¬
quire ye: return, come.
This prophecy concerning Dumah is very short,
and withal dark and hard to be understood. Some
think that Dumah is a part of Arabia, and that the
inhabitants descended from Dumah the sixth son
of Ishmael, as those of Kedar (v. 16, 17.) from Ish-
mael’s second son, Gen. xxv. 13, 14. Others, be-
c mse mount S.'ir is here mentioned, by Dumah un¬
derstand Idumea, the country of the Edomites.
Some of Israel’s neighbours are certainly meant,
whose distress is foretold, not only for warning to
them to prepare them for it, but for warning to Is¬
rael not to depend upon them, or any of the nations
about them, for relief in a time of danger, but upon
God only. We must see all creature-confidences
failing Us", and feel them breaking under us, that
we may not lay more weight upon them than they
will bear. Rut though the explication of this pro¬
phecy be difficult, because we have no history in
which we find the accomplishment of it, yet the ap¬
plication will be easy. We have here,
1. A question put by an Edomite to the watch¬
man. Some one or other calls out of Seir,
somebody that was more concerned for the public
safety and welfare than the rest, who were gene¬
rally" careless and secure; as the man of Macedonia,
in a vision, desired Paul to come over and help
them, (Acts xvi. 9.) so this man of mount Seir, in a
vision, desired the prophet to inform and intruct
them. He calls not many; it is well there are any,
that all are not alike unconcerned about the things
that belong to the public peace. Some out of Seir
ask advice of God’s prophets, and are willing to be
taught, when many of God’s Israel heed nothing.
The question is serious. What of the night? It is
put to a proper person, the watchman, whose office
it is to answer such inquiries: he repeats the ques¬
tion, as one in care, as one in earnest, and desires to
have an answer. Note, (1.) God’s prophets and min¬
isters are appointed to be watchmen, and we are to
look upon them as such. They are as watchmen
in the city in a time of peace, to see that all be safe,
to knock at every door by personal inquiries; (“ Is
it locked? Is the fire safer”) to direct those that
are at a loss, and check those that are disorderly,
Cant. iii. 3. — v. 7. They are as watchmen in the
camp in time of war; (Ezek. xxxiii. 7.) they are to
take notice of the motions of the enemy, and to give
notice of them, to make discoveries, and then
give warning; and in this they must deny them¬
selves. (2.) It is our duty to inquire of the watch¬
men, especially to ask again and again, What of
the night? For watchmen wake when others sleep.
[1.] What time of the night? After a long sleep in
sin an security, is it not time to rise, high time to
awake out of sleep? Rom. xiii. 11. We have a
great deal of work to do, a long journey to go; is it
not time to be stirring? “Watchman, what o’clock
is it? After a long dark night is there any hopes of
the day dawning?” [2.] What tidings of the night?
What from the night? So some. “ What vision
has the prophet had to-night? We are readv to
receive it.” Or rather, “What occurs to-night?
What weather is it? What news?” We must ex¬
pect an alarm, and never be secure; the day of
the Lord will come as a thief in the night; we must
prepare to receive the alarm, and resolve to keep
our ground, and then take the first hint of danger,
and to our arms presently, to our spiritual wea¬
pons.
2. The watchman’s answer to this question. The
watchman was neither asleep nor dumb; though it
was a man of mount Seir that called to him, he was
ready to give him an answer; The morning comes.
He answers, (1.) By way of prediction; “there
comes first a morning of light, and peace, and op¬
portunity, you will enjoy one day of comfort more;
but afterward comes a night of trouble and cala¬
mity.” Note, In the course of God’s providence, it
is usual that morning and night are counter-
changed, and succeed each other. Is it night?
Yet the morning comes, and the day-spring knows
his place, Ps. xxx. 5. Is it day? Yet the night
comes also: if there be a morning of youth and
health, there will come a night of sickness and old
age; if a morning of prosperity in the family, in the
public, yet we must look for changes. But God
usually gives a morning of opportunity before he
sends a night of calamity, that his own people may
be prepared for the storm, and others left inex¬
cusable. (3.) By way of excitement; If ye will in¬
quire, inquire ye. Note, It is our wisdom to im¬
prove the present morning in preparation for the
night that is coming after it; “ Inquire , return,
come. Be inquisitive, be penitent, be willing and
obedient.” The manner of expression is very ob¬
servable, but we are put to our choice what we will
do; “ If ye will inquire, inquire ye; if not, it is at
your peril ; you cannot say but you have a fair offer
made you.” We are also urged to be at a point;
“ If you will, say so, and do not stand pausing; what
you will do, do quickly, for it is no time to trifle.”
Those that return and come to God, will find they
have a great deal of work to do, a^but a little time
to do it in, and therefore they mave need to be
busy.
1 3. The burden upon Arabia. In the forest
in Arabia shall ye lodge, O ye travelling com¬
panies of Dedanini. 14. The inhabitants of
the land of Tenia brought water to him that
was thirsty, they prevented with their bread
him that fled. 15. For they fled from the
swords, from the drawn sword, and from
the bent bow, and from the grievousness of
war. 16. For thus hath the Lord said
unto me, Within a year, according to the
years of a hireling, and all the glory of
Kedar shall fail : 17. And the residue of
the number of archers, the mighty men of
the children of Kedar, shall be diminish¬
ed : for the Lord God of Israel hath spo¬
ken it.
Arabia was a large country, that lay eastward
and southward of the land of Canaan; much of it
was possessed by the posterity of Abraham. The
Dedanim here mentioned, (v. 13.) descended from
Dedan, Abraham’s son by Iveturah; the inhabitants
of Tema and Kedar descended from Ishmael, Gen.
i ou ISAIAH, XXII.
xxv. 3, 13, 15. The Arabians generally lived in
tents, and kept cattle, were a hardy people, inured
to labour; probably the Jews depended upon them
as a soil of a wall between them and the more war¬
like eastern nations; and therefore, to alarm them,
they shall hear the burthen of Arabia, and see it
sinking under its own burthen.
1. A destroying army shall be brought upon
them, with a sword, with a drawn sword, with a
bow ready bent, and with all the grievousness of
war, v. 15. It is probable that the king of Assyria,
in some of the marches of his formidable and victo¬
rious army, took Arabia in his way, and meeting
with little resistance, made an easy prey of them.
The consideration of the grievousness of war should
make us thankful for the blessings of peace.
2. The poor country people will hereby be forced
to flee for shelter wherever they can find a place;
so that the travelling com/ianies of Dedanim, which
used to keep the high-roads with their caravans,
shall be obliged to quit them, and lodge in the forest
in Arabia, (v. 13.) and shall not have the wonted
convenience of their own tents, poor and weather¬
beaten as they are.
3. They shall stand in need of refreshment, being
ready to perish for want of it, in their flight from
the invading army ; “ 0 ye inhabitants of the land of
Tenia,” (who probably, were next neighbours to the
companies of Dedanim,) “bring ye water” (so the
margin reads it) “ to him that is thirsty, and firevent
with your bread those that flee, for they are objects
of your compassion : they do not wander for wan¬
dering sake, nor are they reduced to straits by any
extravagance of their own, but they flee from the
sword.” Tema was a country where water was
sometimes a scarce commodity, (as we find, Job vi.
19.) and we may conclude it would be in a particu¬
lar manner acceptable to these poor distressed re¬
fugees. Let us learn hence, (1.) To look for dis¬
tress ourselves; we know not what straits we may
be brought into before we die. Those that live in
cities, may be forced to lodge in forests; and those
may know the want of necessary food, who now eat
bread to the full. Our mountain stands not so strong
but that it may be moved, rises not so high but that
it may be scaled. These Arabians would the bet¬
ter bear these calamities, because in their way of
living thsy had Uwd themselves to hardships. (2.)
To look with compassion upon those that are in dis¬
tress, and with all cheerfulness to relieve them, not
knowing how soon their case may be ours; “ Bring
water to them that are thirsty, and not only give
bread to those that need and ask it, but prevent
those with it that have need, give it them unask¬
ed. ” They that do so, shall find it remembered
to their praise, as (according to our reading) it is
here remembered to the praise of the land of Tema,
that they did bring water to the thirsty, and re¬
lieved even those that were on the falling side.
4. All that which is the glory of Kedar shall van¬
ish away and fail. Did they glory in their numer¬
ous herds and flocks? They shall all be driven
away by the enemy. It seems, they were famous
above other nations for the use of the bow in battle;
but their archers, instead of foiling the enemy,
shall fall themselves; and the residue of their num¬
ber, when they are reduced to a small number,
shall be diminished; (x>. 17.) their mighty, able-
bodied men, and men of spirit too, shall become
very few; for they being most forward in the de¬
fence of their country, were most exposed, and fell
first, either by the enemies’ sword, or into the
enemies’ hand. Note, Neither the skill of archers,
(though they be ever so good marksmen,) nor the
courage of mighty men, can protect a people from
the judgments of God, when they come with com¬
mission'; they rather expose the undertakers. That
is poor glory, which will thus quickly come to
nothing.
5. All this shall be done in a little time; “ Within
one year, according to the years of a hireling, (with¬
in one year, precisely reckoned,) this judgment
shall come upon Kedar.” If this fixing of the time
be of no great use to us now, (because we find not
either when the prophecy was delivered, or when it
was accomplished,) yet it might be of great use to
the Arabians then, to awaken them to repentance,
that, like the men of Nineveh, they might prevent
the judgment, when they were thus told it was just
at the door. Or, when it begins to be fulfilled, the
business shall be done, be begun and ended in one
year’s time. God, when he pleases, can do a great
work in a little time.
6. It is all ratified by the truth of God; (x>. 16.)
“ Thus hath the Lord said to me; you may take my
word for it, that it is his word;” and we may be
sure no word of his shall fall to the ground. And
again, (x>. 17.) The Lord God of Israel hath sfioken
it; as the God of Israel, in pursuance of his gra¬
cious designs concerning them; and we may be sure
the Strength of Israel will not lie.
CHAP. XXII.
We are now come nearer home, for this chapter is the
burthen of the valley of vision, Jerusalem; other places
had their burthen for the sake of their being concerned
some way or other with Jerusalem, and were reckoned
with either as spiteful enemies, or deceitful friends, to
the people of God; but now let Jerusalem hear her
doom. This chapter concerns, I. The city of Jerusalem
itself, and the neighbourhood depending upon it. Here
is, 1. A prophecy of the grievous distress they should
shortly be brought into, by Sennacherib’s invasion of the
country, and laying siege to the city, v. 1..7. Are-
proof given them for their misconduct in that distress,
in two things, (1.) Not having an eye to God in the use
of the means of their preservation, v. 8. . 11. (2.) not
humbling themselves under his mighty hand, v. 12... 14.
II. The court of Hezekiah, and the officers of that court:
1. The displacing of Shebna, a bad man, and turning
him out of the treasury, v. 15. . 19, 25. 2. The preferring
of Eliakim to his place, who should do his country bet¬
ter service, v. 20. . . 24.
l.r¥^HE burden of the valley of vision.
JL What aileth thee now, that thou
art wholly gone up to the house-tops ? 2.
Thou that art full of stirs, a tumultuous city,
a joyous city : thy slain men are not slain
with the sword, nor dead in battle. 3.
All thy rulers are fled together, they are
bound by the archers : all that are found in
thee are bound together, which have fled
from far. 4. Therefore said I, Look away
from me ; 1 will weep bitterly, labour not
to comfort me ; because of the spoiling of
the daughter of my people. 5. For it is
a day of trouble, and of treading down,
and of perplexity by the Lord God of hosts
in the valley of vision, breaking down the
walls, and of crying to the mountains.
6. And Elam bare the quiver with cha¬
riots of men anil horsemen, and Kir unco¬
vered the shield. 7. And it shall come to
pass, that thy choicest valleys shall be full
of chariots, and the horsemen shall set
themselves in array at the gate.
The title of this prophecy is very observable; it
is the burthen of the valley of vision, of Judah and
ISAIAH
Jerusalem; all so agree. Fitly enough is Jerusa¬
lem called a valley; for the mountains were round
about it; and the land of Judah abounded with fruit¬
ful valleys. And by the judgments of God, though
they h id been as a towering mountain, they should
be brought low, sunk and depressed, and become
dark and dirty, as a valley. But most emphati¬
cally it is called a valley of vision, because there
God was known, and his name great; there the
prophets were made acquainted with his mind by
visions, and there the people saw the goings of their
God and King in his sanctuary. Babylon, being a
stt anger to God, though rich and great, was called
the desert of the sea; but Jerusalem, being intrusted
with his oracles, is a valley of vision; blessed are
their eyes, for they see, and they have seers by office
among them. Where Bibles and ministers are,
there is a valley of vision, from which is expected
fruit accordingly; but here is a burthen of the val¬
ley of vision, and a heavy burthen it is. Note,
Church-privileges, if they be not improved, will
not secure men from the judgments of God; You
only have I known of all the families of the earth,
therefore mill I punish you. The valley of vision
has a p irticular burthen; Thou Capernaum, Matt,
xi.. 23. The higher any are lifted up in means
and mercies, the heavier will their doom be if they
abuse them.
Now the burthen of the valley of vision here, is
that which will not quite ruin it, but frighten it; for
it refers not to the destruction of Jerusalem by Ne¬
buchadnezzar, but to the attempt made upon it by
Sennacherib, which we had the prophecy of, (ch.
10. ) and shall meet with the history of, ch. 36. It is
here again prophecied of, because the desolation of
many of the neighbouring countries, which were
foretold in the foregoing chapters, were to be brought
to pass by the Assyrian army. Now let Jerusalem
know, that when the cup is going round, it will be
put into her hand, and though it will not be to her a
fatal cup, yet it will be a cup of trembling. Here
is foretold,
1. The consternation that the city should be in
upon the approach of Sennacherib’s army. It used
to be full of stirs, a city of great trade, people hur¬
rying to and fro about their business, a tumultuous
city, populous and noisy ; where there is great trade,
there is great tumult. It used to be a joyous re¬
velling city, made such by the busy part, and the
merry part, of mankind; places of concourse are
places of noise. “ But what ails thee now, that the
shops are quitted, and there is no more walking in
the streets and exchange, but thou art wholly gone
up to the house-tops, (v. 1.) to bemoan thyself in
silence and solitude, or to secure thyself from the
enemy, or to look abroad, and see if any succours
come to thy relief, or which way the enemies’ mo¬
tions are.” Let both men of business and sports¬
men rejoice as though they rejoiced not, for some¬
thing may happen quickly, which they little think
of, that will be a damp to their mirth, and a stop to
their business, and send them to match as a sparrow
alone upon the house-top, Ps. cii. 7.
But why is Jerusalem in such a fright? Her slain
men are not slain with the sword, {v. 2.) but, (1.)
Slain with famine; so some; for Sennacherib’s army
having laid the country waste, and destroyed the
fruits of the earth, provisions must needs be very
scarce and dear in the city, which would be the
death of many of the pooret sort of people, who
would be constrained to feed on that which was
unwholesome. (2.) Slain with fear; they were put
into this fright, though they had not a man killed,
but were so disheartened themselv s, that they
seemed as effectually stabbed with fear as if they
had been run through with a sword.
2. The inglorious flight of the rulers of Judah,
, XXII. 101
who fled from far, from all parts of the country, to
Jerusalem, (v. 6.) fled together, as it were by con¬
sent, and were found in Jerusalem, having left theii
respective cities, which they should have taken care
of, to be a prey to the Assyrian army, which, meet¬
ing with no opposition, when it came up against
all the clefenced cities of Judah, easily took them, ch.
xxxvi. 1. These rulers were bound from the bow;
so the word is; they not only quitted their own ci¬
ties like cowards, but, when they came to Jerusa¬
lem, were of no service there, but were as if their
hands were tied from the use of the bow, by the
extreme distraction and confusion they were in;
they trembled, so that they could not draw a bow.
See how easily God can dispirit men, and how cer¬
tainly fear will do it, when the tyranny of it is yield¬
ed to.
3. 'Pile great grief which this should occasion to
all serious, sensible people, among them; which is
represented by the prophet’s laying the thing to
heart himself; he lived to see it, "and was resolved
to share with the children of his people in their
sorrows, v. 4, 5. He is not willing to proclaim his
sorrow, and therefore bids those about him to look
away from him; he will abandon himself to grief,
and indulge himself in it, will weep secretly, but
weep bitterly, and will have none go about to com¬
fort him, for his grief is not obstinate, and he is
pleased with his pain. But what is the occasion of
his grief? A poor prophet had little to lose, and had
been inured to hardship, when he walked naked
and barefoot; but it is for the spoiling of the daugh¬
ter of his people. Note, Public grievances should
be our griefs. It is a day of trouble and of tread¬
ing down, and of perplexity ; our enemies trouble
us, and tread us down, and our friends are perplex¬
ed, and know not what course to take, to do us a
kindness; the Lord God of hosts is now contending
with the valley of vision; the enemies with their
battering-rams are breaking down the walls, and
we are in vain crying to the mountains, (to keep off
the enemy, or to fall on us and cover us,) or looking
for help to come to us over the mountains, or ap¬
pealing, as God does, to the mountains, to hear our
controversy, (Micah vi. 1.) and to judge between
us and our injurious neighbours.
4. The great numbers and strength of the enemv,
that should invade their country' and besiege their
city, v. 6, 7. Elam, the Persians, come with their
quiver full of arrows, and with chariots of fighting
men, and horsemen; Kir, the Medes, muster up
their arms, unsheath the sword, and uncover the
shield, and get every thing ready for battle, every
thing ready for the besieging of Jerusalem: then
the choice valleys about Jerusalem, that used to be
clothed with flocks, and covered over with corn,
shall be full of chariots of war, and at the gate of
the city the horsemen shall set themselves in array,
to cut off all provisions from going in, and to force
their way in. What a condition must the city be
in, that was beset on all sides with such an army?
8. And he discovered the covering of Ju¬
dah, and thou didst look in that day to the
armour of the house of the forest. 9. Ye
have seen also the breaches of the city of
David, that they are many; and ye gather¬
ed together the waters of the lower pool :
10. And ye have numbered the houses of
Jerusalem, and the houses have ye broken
down to fortify the wall. 1 1 . Ye made alsc
a ditch between the two walls for tne water
of the old pool : but ye have not looked unto
the maker thereof, neither had respect unto
102
ISAIAH, XXII.
him that fashioned it long ago. 12. And in
that day did the Lord God of hosts call to
weeping, and to mourning, and to baldness,
and to girding with sackcloth: 13. And,
behold, joy and gladness, slaying oxen and
killing sheep, eating flesh and drinking wine :
let us eat and drink, for to-morrow we shall
die. 14. And it was revealed in mine ears
by the Lord of hosts, Surely this iniquity
shall not be purged from you till ye die,saith
the Lord God of hosts.
What is meant by the covering of Judah, which,
in the beginning of this paragraph, is said to be dis¬
covered, is not agreed. The fenced cities of Judah
were a covering to the country; but those being ta¬
ken by the army of the Assyrians, they ceased to
be a shelter; so that the whole country lay exposed
to be plundered. The weakness of Judah, its na¬
kedness, and inability to help itself, now appeared
more than ever; and thus the covering of Judah
was discovered. Its magazines and stores, which
had been locked up, were now laid open for the
public use. Dr. Lightfoot gives another sense of it,
that by this distress into which Judah should be
brought, God would discover their covering, uncloak
their hypocrisy, would show all that was in their
heart, as is said of Hezekiah upon another occasion,
2 Chron. xxxii. 31. Now they discovered both
their carnal confidence, (v. 9.) and their carnal se¬
curity, v. 13. Thus, by one means or other, the
iniquity of Ephraim will be discovered, and the sin
of Samaria, Hos. vii. 1.
They were now in a great fright, and in this fright
they discovered two things much amiss:
I. A great contempt of God’s goodness, and his
power to help them. They made use of the means
they could think of for their own preservation; and
it is not that that they are blamed for, but, in doing
this, they did not acknowledge God. Observe,
1. How careful they were to improve all advan¬
tages that might contribute to their safety. When
Sennacherib had made himself master of all the
defenced cities of Judah, and Jerusalem was left as
a cottage in a vineyard, they thought it was time to
look about them; a council was immediately called,
a council of war; and it was resolved to stand upon
their defence, and not tamely to surrender. Pur¬
suant to this resolve, they took all the prudent mea¬
sures they could for their own security. We tempt
God, if, in times of danger, we do not the best we
can for ourselves. (1.) They inspected the maga¬
zines and. stores, to see if thev were well stocked
with arms and ammunition. They looked to the ar¬
mour of the house of the forest, which Solomon built
in Jerusalem for an armoury, (1 Kings x. 17.) and
thence they delivered out what they had occasion
for. It is the wisdom of princes, in time of peace,
to provide for war, that they may not have arms to
seek when they should use them, and perhaps upon
a sudden emergency. (2.) Thev viewed the forti¬
fications, the breaches of the city of David; they
walked round the walls, and observed where they
were gone to decay, for want of seasonable repairs,
or broken by some former attempts made upon
them. These breaches were many; the more shame
f r the house of David, that they suffered the city
of David to lie neglected. They had, probable,
often seen those breaches; but now they saw them
to consider what course to take about them. This
good we should get by public distresses, we should
be awakened by them to refiair our breaches, and
amend what is amiss. (3.) Thev made sure of
water for the city, and did what they could to de¬
prive the besiegers of it; Ye gathered together the
waters of the lower pool, of which there was, pro¬
bably, no great store, and of which, therefore, they
were the more concerned to be good husbands. See
what a mercy it is, that, as nothing is more neces¬
sary to the support of human life than water, so
nothing is more cheap and common; but it is bad
indeed when that, as here, is a scarce commodity.
(4.) They numbered the houses of Jerusalem, that
every house might send in their quota of men for
the public sen ice, or contribute in money to it;
which they raised by a poll, so much a head, or so
much a house. (5.) Because private property ought
to give way to the public safety, those houses that
stood in their way, when the wall was to be fortified,
were broken down; which, in such a case of neces¬
sity, is no more an injury to the owner, than blow¬
ing up houses in case of fire. (6.) They made a
ditch between the outer and inner wall, for the
greater security of the city; and they contrived to
draw the water of the old pool to it, that they
might have plenty of water themselves, and might
deprive the besiegers of it; for, it seems, that was
the project, lest the Assyrian army should come and
find much water, (2 Chron. xxxii. 4.) and so should
be the better able to prolong the siege. If it be
lawful to destroy the forage of a country, much
more to divert the streams of its waters, for the
straitening and starving of an enemy.
2. How regardless they were of God in all these
preparations; but ye have not looked unto the
Maker thereof; of Jerusalem, (the city yru are so
solicitous for the defence of,) and of all the advan¬
tages which nature has furnished it with for its de¬
fence; the mountains round about it, (Ps. exxv. 2.)
and the rivers, which were such as the inhabitants
might turn which way soever they pleased for their
convenience. Note, (1.) It is God that made his
Jerusalem, and fashioned it long ago, in his coun¬
sels. The Jewish writers, upon this place, sav,
There were seven things which God made before
the world; meaning which he had in his eye when
he made the world, the garden of Eden, the law,
the just ones, Israel, the throne of glory, Jerusa-
sa/em, and Messiah the Prince. The gospel-church
has God for its Maker. (2.) Whatever service we
do, or endeavour to do, at any time, for God’s Je¬
rusalem, it must be with an eve to him as the
Maker of it; and he takes it ill if we do not. It is
charged upon them here, that they did not look to
God. [l.j They did not design his glory, in what
they did. They fortified Jerusalem because it was
a rich city, and their own houses were in it; not be¬
cause it was the holy city, and God’s house was in
it. In all our cares for the defence of the church,
we must look more at God’s interest in it than at
our own. [2. J They did not depend upon him for
a blessing upon their endeavours, saw no need of it,
and therefore sought not to him for it, but thought
their own powers and policies sufficient for them.
Of Hezekiah himself it is said, that he trusted in
God, (2 Kings xviii. 5.) and particularly upon this
occasion; (2 Chron. xxxii. 8.) but there were those
about him, it seems, who were great statesmen and
soldiers, but had little religion in them. [3.] They
did not give him thanks for the advantages they
had in fortifying their citv from the waters of the
old pool, which were fashioned long ago, as Kishon
is called an ancient river, Judg. v. 21. Whatever in
nature is at any time serviceable to us, we must
therein acknowledge the goodness of the God of
nature; who, when he fashioned it long ago, fitted
it to be so, and according to whose ordinance it con¬
tinues to this day. Every creature is that to us that
God makes it to be; and therefore, whatever use it
is of to us, we must look at him that fashioned It,
bless him for it, and use it for him.
ISAIAH, XXII.
II. A great contempt of God’s wrath and justice
m contending with them, v. 12 — 14. Where ob¬
serve,
1. What was God’s design in bringing this cala-
lamity upon them; it was to humble them, bring
them to repentance, and make them serious. In
that day of trouble, and treading down, and per¬
plexity,' the Lord did thereby call to weeping, and
mourning, and all the expressions of sorrow, even
to baldness and girding’ with sackcloth; and all this,
to lament their sins, by which they had brought
those judgments upon their land, to enforce their
prayers, by which they might hope to avert the
judgments’ that were breaking in, and to dispose
themselves to a reformation of their lives by a holy
seriousness, and a tenderness of heart, under the
word of God. To this God called them by his
prophets’ explaining his providences, and by his
providences awakening them to regard what his
rophets said. Note, When God threatens us with
is judgments, he expects and requires that we
humble ourselves under his mighty hand; that we
tremble when the lion roars, and in a day of adver¬
sity consider.
2. H,ow contrary they walked to this design of
God; (t>. 13.) Behold, joy and gladness, mirth and
feasting, all the gaiety and all the jollity imagina¬
ble: they were as secure and pleasant as they used
to be, as if they had no enemy in their borders, or
were in no danger of falling into his hands. When
they had taken the necessary precautions for their
security, then they set all deaths and dangers at
defiance, and resolved to be merry, let come on
them what would. They that should have been
eating among the mourners, were among the wine-
bibbers, the riotous eaters of flesh; and observe
what they said, Let us eat and drink, for to-mor¬
row we shall die. This may refer either to the par¬
ticular danger they were now in, and the fair warn¬
ing which the prophet gave them of it, or to the
general shortness and uncertainty of human life,
and the nfearness of death at all times. This was
the language of the profane scoffers who mocked
the messengers of the Lord, and misused his pro¬
phets. (1. ) They made a jest of dying; “ The pro¬
phet tells us we must die shortly, perhaps to-mor-
row, and therefore we should mourn and repent
to-day; no, rather let ws eat and drink, that we
may be fattened for the slaughter, and may be in
good heart to meet our doom; if we must have a
short life, let it be a merry one.” (2.) They ridi¬
culed the doctrine of a future state on the other
side death; for if there were no such state, the
apostle grants there would be something of reason
in what they said, 1 Cor. xv. 32. If, when we die,
there were an end of us, it were good to make our¬
selves as easy and merry as we could, while we live;
but if for all these things God shall bring us into
judgment , it is at our peril if we walk in the way
of our heart and the sight of our eyes, Eccl. xi. 9.
Note, A practical disbelief of another life after this,
is at the bottom of the carnal security and brutish
sensuality, which are the sin and shame and ruin of
so great a part of mankind, as of the old world,
who were eating and drinking till the food came.
3. How much God was displeased at it; he sig¬
nified his resentment of it to the prophet, revealed
it in his ears, to be by him proclaimed upon the
house-top; Surely this iniquity shall not be purged
from you till ye die, v. 14. It shall never be ex¬
piated with sacrifice and offering, any more than
the iniquity of the house of Eli, 1 Sam. iii. 14. It
is a sin against the remedy, a baffling of the utmost
means of conviction, and rendering them ineffec¬
tual; and therefore it is not likely they should ever
repent of it, or nave it pardoned. The Chaldee reads
rt, It shall not be forgiven you till you die the second \
103
death. Those that walk contrary to God, he will
walk contrary to them; with the froward he will
show himself froward.
15. Thus saith the Lord God of hosts,
Go, get thee unto this treasurer, even unto
Shebna, which is over the house, and say,
1G. What hast thou here, and whom hast
thou here, that thou hast hewed ihee out
a sepulchre here, as he that heweth him
out a sepulchre on high, and that grav-
eth a habitation for himself in a rock? 17
Behold, the Lord will carry thee away
with a mighty captivity, and will surely
cover thee. 18. He will surely violently
turn and toss thee like a ball into a large,
country: there shalt thou die, and there
the chariots of thy glory shall be the shame
of thy lord’s house. 1 9. And I will drive
thee from thy station, and from thy state
shall he pull thee down. 20. And it shall
come to pass in that day, that I will call
my servant Eliakim, the son of Hilkiah:
21. And I will clothe him with thy robe,
and strengthen him with thy girdle, and 1
will commit thy government into his hand ;
and he shall be a father to the inhabitants
of Jerusalem, and to the house of Judah.
22. And the key of the house of David will
1 lay upon his shoulder: so he shall open,
and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and
none shall open. 23. And I will fasten him
as a r ail in a sure place ; and he shall be
for a glorious throne to his father’s house.
24. And they shall hang upon him all the
glory of his father’s house, the offspring and
the issue, all vessels of small quantity, from
the vessels of cups, even to all the vessels
of flagons. 25. In that day, saith the Lord
of hosts, shall the nail that is fastened in the
sure place be removed, and be cut down,
and fall; and the burden that was upon it
shall be cut off: for the Lord hath spoken it.
We have here a prophecy concerting the displa¬
cing of Shebna, a great officer at court, and the pre¬
ferring of Eliakim to the post of honour and trust
that he was in. Such changes are common in the
courts of princes, it is therefore strange that so much
notice should be taken of it by the prophet here: but
by the accomplishment of what was foretold concern¬
ing these particular persons, God designed to con¬
firm his word in the mouth of Isaiah concerning
other and greater events; and it is likewise to show,
that, as God has burthens in store for those nations
and kingdoms abroad that are open enemies to his
church and people; so he has for those particular
persons at home, that are false friends to them, and
betray them. It is likewise a confirmation in gene¬
ral of the hand of Divine Providence in all events
of this kind, which to us seem contingent, and to de¬
pend upon the wills and fancies of princes: promo¬
tion comes neither from the east, nor from the west,
nor from the south; but God is the Judge, Ps. lxxv.
6, 7. It is probable that this prophecy was deli¬
vered at the same time with that in the former part
of the chapter, and began to be fulfilled before
ISAIAH, XXII.
104
S-nnacherib’s invasion; for now Shebna was over the
hou.tr, but then Eliakim was,((7i. xxxvi.3. ) and Sheb-
n *. coming down gradually, was only scribe. Here is,
I. The prophecy of Shebnu’s disgrace; lie is call¬
ed this treasurer, being intrusted with the manage¬
ment of the revenue; and he is likewise said to be
over the house; for such was his boundless ambition
and covetousness, that less than two places, and
those two of the greatest importance at court, would
not content him. It is common for self-seeking men
thus to grasp at more than they can manage; and
so the business of their places is neglected, while
the pomp and profit of them wholly engage the
mind. It does not appear what were the particu¬
lar instances of Shebna’s mal-administration, for
which Isaiah is here sent to prophesy against him;
but the Jews say, “ He kept up a traitorous corres¬
pondence with the king of Assyria, and was in treaty
with him to deliver the city into his hands.” How¬
ever it was, it should seem that he was a foreigner,
(for we never read of the name of his father,) and
that he was an enemy to the true interests of Judah
and Jerusalem; it is probable that he was first pre¬
ferred by Ahaz. Hezekiah was himself an excel¬
lent prince; but the best masters cannot always be
sure of good servants: we have need to pray for
princes, that they may be wise and happy in the
choice of those they trust. These were times of
reformation, yet Shebna, a bad man, complied so
far as to keep his places at court; and it is probable
that many others did like him, for which reason
S nnacherib is said to have been sent against a hy¬
pocritical nation, ch. x. 6. In this message to Sheb-
n i, we have,
1. A reproof of his pride, vanity, and security;
(v. lfi.) “ What hast thou here, and whom hast thou
h°re? What a mighty noise and bustle dost thou
oi ike! What estate hast thou here, that thou wast
barn to? 117 iom hast thou here, what relations that
thou art allied to? Art thou not of mean and ob¬
scure original, filius /io/iuli — an utter plebeian, that
comest we know not whence? What is the meaning
of this then, th it thou hast built thee a fine house,
hast graved thee a habitation?” So very nice and
curious was it, that it seemed rather to be the work
of an engraver than of a mason or carpenter. And it
seemed engraven in a rock; so firmly was it founded,
and so impregnable was it. “ Nay, thou hast hewed
thee out a sepulchre;” as if he designed that his pomp
should survive his funeral. Though Jerusalem was
not the place of his fathers' sepulchres, (as Nelie-
miah called it with a great deal of tenderness, Neh.
ii. 3.) he designed it should be the place of his own;
and therefore set up a monument for himself in his
life-time, set it up on high. They that make stately
monuments for their pride, forget that, how beauti¬
ful soever they appear outwardly, within they are
full of dead men’s bones: but it is pity that the
grave-stone should forget the grave.
2. A prophecy of his fall, and the sullying of his
glory.
(1.) That he should now quickly be displaced and
degraded; (v. 19.) I will drive thee from thy sta¬
tion. High places are slippery places; and those
are justly deprived of their honour, that are proud
of it, and puffed up with it; and deprived of their
power, that do hurt with it. God will do it who
shows himself to be God, by looking upon proud
men, ami abasing them , Job xl. 12. To this, v. 25.
refers. The nail that is now fastened in the sure
place, Shebn i, who thinks himself immoveably fixed
in Ins office, shall be removed, and cut down, and
fall. Those are mistaken, who think any place in
this world a sure place, or themselves as nails fas-
t-oed in it; for tV-re is nothing here but uncertaintv.
When the nail falls, the burthen that was upon it is
cut off: when Shebna was disgraced, all that had a
I dependence upon him fell into contempt too. Those
! that are in high places will have many hanging upon
them, as favourites whom they are proud of ana
trust to; but they are burthens upon tlu m, and per¬
haps with their weight break the nail, and both fall
together, and by deceiving ruin one another — the
common fate of great men and their flatterers, who
expect more from each other than either performs.
(2.) That after awhile he should not only be dri¬
ven from his station, but driven his country; The
Lord will carry thee away with the captivity of a
mighty man, v. 17, 18. Some think the Assyrians
seized him, and took him away, because he had
promised to assist them, and did not, but appeared
against them; or, perhaps, Hezekiah, finding out
his treachery, banished him, and forbade him ever
to return; or, he himself, finding that he was be¬
come obnoxious to the people, withdrew into some
other country, and there spent the rest of his days
in meanness and obscurity. Grotius thinks he was
stricken with a leprosy, which was a disease ccm-
monly supposed to come from the immediate hand
of God’s displeasure, particularly for the punish¬
ment of the proud, as in the case of Miriam and
Uzziah; and by reason of this disease, he was
tossed like a ball out of Jerusalem. Those who,
when they are in power, turn and toss others, will
be justly turned and tossed themselves, when their
day shall come to fall. Many who have thought
themselves fastened like a nail, may come to be
tossed like a ball; for here have we no continuing
city. Shebna thought his place too strait for him,
he had no room to thrive; God will therefore send
him into a large country, where he shall have room
to wander, but never find the way back again; for
there he shall die, and lay his bones there, and not
in the sepulchre he had hewn out for himself. And
there the chariots which had been the chariots of
his glory, in which he had rattled about the streets
of Jerusalem, and which he took into banishment
with him, should but serve to upbraid him with his
former grandeur, to the shame of his lord’s house,
of the court of Ahaz, that had advanced him.
II. The prophecy of Eliakim’s advancement, t>.
20, &c. He is God’s servant, has approved him¬
self faithfully so in other emplovments, and there¬
fore God will call him to this high station. Those
that are diligent in doing the duty of a low sphere,
stand fairest for preferment in God’s books. Elia¬
kim does not undermine Shebna, or make an inter¬
est against him, nor does he intrude into his office:
but God calls him to it; and what God calls us to,
we may expect he will own us in.
It is here foretold,
1. That Eliakim should be put into Shebna’s
place of lord chamberlain of the household, lord
treasurer, and prime minister of state. The pro¬
phet must tell Shebna this; (y. 21.) “ He shall have
thy robe, the badge of honour: and thy girdle, the
badge of power; for he shall have thy government.”
To hear of it would be a great mortification to Sheb¬
na, much more to see it. Great men, especiallv if
proud men, cannot endure their successors. God
undertakes the doing of it, not only because he
would put it into the heart of Hezekiah to do it, and
his hand must be acknowledged, guiding the hearts
of princes in placing and displacing men, (Prov.
xxi. 1.) but because the powers that are subordi¬
nate as well as supreme, are ordained of God. It is
God that clothes princes with their robes, and there¬
fore we must submit ourselves to them for the
Lord’s sake, and with an eye to him, 1 Pet. ii. 13.
And since it is he that commits the government into
their hand, they must administer it according to his
will, for his glory; they must judge for him, by
whom they judge, and decree justice, Prov. viii. 15.
And they may depend upon him to furnish them for
105
ISAIAH, XXIII.
■what he calls them to: according to the promise
here, I will clothe him; and then it follows, I will
strengthen him. Those that are called to places of
trust and power, should seek unto God for grace to
um tble them to do the duty of their places, for that
ought to be their chief care.
Eliakim’s advancement is further described by
the laving of the key of the house of David ufion
his shoulders, v. 22. Probably, he carried a golden
key upon his shoulder as a badge of his office, or
had one embroidered upon his cloak or robe, to
which this alludes. Being over the house, and hav¬
ing the key delivered to him, as the seals are to the
lord keeper, he shall often and none shall shut, shut
and none shall often. He had access to the house
of the precious things, the silver and the gold, and
the s/tices; to the house of the armour and the trea¬
sures, ( ch . xxxix. 2.) and disposed of the stores there
as he thought fit for the public service. He put
whom he pleased into the inferior offices, and turned
out whom he pleased. Our Lord Jesus describes
his own power as Mediator by an allusion to this,
(Rev. iii. 7.) that he has the key of David, where¬
with he oftetts and no man shuts, he shuts and no
man oftens: his power in the kingdom of heaven,
and in the ordering of all the affairs of that king¬
dom, is absolute, irresistible, and uncontrollable.
2. That he should be fixed and confirmed in that
office: he shall have it for life, and not durante bene-
filacito— during pleasure; (v. 23.) I will fasten
him as a nail iii a sure place, not to be removed or
cut down. Thus lasting shall the honour be, that
comes from God, to all those who use it for him.
Our Lord Jesus is as a nail in a sure place: Iris
kingdom cannot be shaken, and he himself is still
the same.
S. That he should be a great blessing in his office :
and that is it that crowns the favours here conferred
upon him. God makes his name great, for he shall
be a blessing, Gen. xii. 2.
(1.) He shall be a blessing to hiscountry; (v. 21.)
He shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem
and to the house of Judah. He shall take care not
onlv of the affairs of the king’s household, but of
all the public interests in Jerusalem and Judah.
Note, Rulers should be fathers to those that are
under their government; to teach them with wis¬
dom, rule them with love, and correct what is amiss
with tenderness; to protect them and provide for
them, and be solicitous about them, as a man is for
his own children and family. It is happy with a
people, when neither court, nor city, nor country,
has anv separate interests, but all centre in the
same, so that the courtiers are true patriots, and
whom the court blesses, the countiy has reason to
bless too; and when those who are fathers to Jeru¬
salem, the royal city, are no less so to the house of
Judah.
(2.) He shall be a blessing to his family; (v. 23,
24.) He shall be for a glorious throne to his father’s
house: the consummate wisdom and virtue which
recommended him to this great trust made him the
honour of his family, which, probably, was very
considerable before," but now became much more
so. Children should aim to be a credit to their pa¬
rents and relations. The honour men reflect upon
their families by their piety and usefulness, is more
t'l be valued than that which they derive from their
families by their names and titles.
Eliakim being preferred, all the glory of his fa¬
ther’s house was hung upon him; they all made their
court to him, and his brethren’s sheaves bowed to
his. Observe, the glory of this world gives a man
no intrinsic worth or excellency; it is but hung upon
him as an appurtenance, and it will soon drop from
him. Eliakim was compared to a nail in a sure
place; in pursuance cf which comparison, all the
Vol. IV. — O
| relations of his family, which, it is likely, were nu¬
merous, and that was the glory cf it, are said to
have a dependence upon him; as in a house the \cs-
I sels that have handles to them, are hung up upon
nails and pins. It intimates likewise, that he shall
generously take care of them all, and bear the
weight of that carryall the vessels, not only the fla¬
gons, but the cups, the vessels of small quantity,
| the meanest that belonged to his family, shall be
provided for by him. See what a burthen they bring
upon themselves, that undertake great trusts; they
little think how many and how much will hang upon
them, if they resolve to be faithful in the discharge
of their trust. Our Lord Jesus having the key of
the house of David, is as a nail in a sure place, and
all the glory of his father’s house hangs upon him,
I is derived from him, and depends upon him; even
j the meanest that belong to his church, are welcome
to him, and he is able to bear the stress of them all.
That soul cannot perish, nor that concern fall to the
ground, though ever so weighty, that is by faith
hung upon Christ.
CHAP. XXIII.
This chapter is concerning Tyre, an ancient wealthy city,
situated upon the sea, and for many ages one of the most
celebrated cities for trade and merchandise in those parts
of the world. The lot of the tribe of Asher bordered
upon it; ( Joshua xix. 29.) it is called the strong city Tyre.
We seldom find it a dangerous enemy to Israel, but some¬
times their faithful ally, as in the reigns of David and
Solomon; for trading cities maintain their grandeur, not
by conquests of their neighbours, but by commerce with
them. In this chapter is foretold, I. The lamentable
desolation of Tyre, which was performed by Nebuchad¬
nezzar and the Chaldean army, about the time that they
destroyed Jerusalem; and a hard task they had of it, as
appears, Ezek. xxix. 18. where they are said to have
served, a hard service against Tyre , and yet to have no
wages, v. 1 - . 14. II. The restoration of Tyre after 70
- years, and the return of the Tyrians out of their captivity
to their trade again, v. 15. .18.
1 . rTXIE burden of Tyre. Howl, ye ships
JL of Tarshish; for it is laid waste, so
that there is no house, no entering in : from
the land of Chittim it is revealed to them.
2. Be still, ye inhabitants of the isles ; thou
whom the merchants of Zidon, that pass
over the sea, have replenished. 3. And by
great waters the seed of Sihor, the harvest
of the river, is her revenue; and she is a
mart of nations. 4. Be thou ashamed, O
Zidon; for the sea hath spoken, even the
strength of the sea, saving, 1 travail not, nor
bring forth children, neither do I nourish up
young men, nor bring up virgins. 5. As
at the report concerning Egypt, so shall they
be sorely pained at the report of Tyre. 6.
Pass ye over to Tarshish ; howl, ye inha¬
bitants of the isle. 7. Is this your joyous
! city , whose antiquity is of ancient days? her
1 own feet shall carry her afar off to sojourn.
8. Who hath taken this counsel against
Tyre, the crowning city , whose merchants
are princes, whose traffickers ore the hon¬
ourable of the earth? 9. The LoRn of
hosts hath purposed it, to stain the pride of
all glory, and to bring into contempt all the
honourable of the earth. 10. Pass through
thy land as a river, O daughter of Tarshish
106
ISAIAH, XXIII.
there is no more strength. 11. He stretched
out his hand over the sea; he shook the
kingdoms: the Lord hath given a com¬
mandment against the merchant-city, to de¬
stroy the strong holds thereof. 1 2. And he
said, Thou shalt no more rejoice, O thou
oppressed virgin, daughter of Zidon ; arise,
pass over to Chittim ; there also shalt thou
iiave no rest. 1 3. Behold, the land of the
Chaldeans: this people was not till the As¬
syrian founded it for them that dwell in the
wilderness : they set up the towers thereof,
they raised up the palaces thereof; and he
brought it to ruin. 14. Howl, ye ships of
Tarshish: for your strength is laid waste.
Tyre being a sea-port town, this prophecy of its
overthrow fitly begins and ends with, Howl, ye ships
of Tarshish; for all its business, wealth, and honour
depended upon its shipping; if that be ruined they
are all undone. Observe,
I. Tyre flourishing. This is taken notice of, that
her fall may appear the more dismal; 1. The mer¬
chants of Zidon, who traded at sea, had at first re¬
plenished her, v. 2. Zidon was the more ancient
city, situate upon the same sea-coast, a few leagues
more to the north, and Tyre was at first only a co¬
lony of that; but the daughter had outgrown the
mother, and was become much more considerable.
It may be a mortification to great cities to think
how they were at first replenished. 2. Egypt had
helped very much to raise her, v. 3. Sihor was the
river of Egypt, by that river, and the ocean into
which it ran, the Egyptians traded with Tyre: and
the harvest of that river was her revenue. The
riches of the sea, and the gains by goods exported
and imported, are as much the harvest to trading
towns, as that of hay and corn is to the country ; and
sometimes the harvest of the river proves a better
revenue than the harvest of the land. Or, it may
be meant of all the products of the Egyptian soil,
which the men of Tyre traded in, and which were
the harvest of the river Nile, owing themselves to
the overflowing of that river. 3. She was become
the mart of the nations; the great emporium of that
part of the world. Some of every known nation
might be found there, especially at certain times of
the year, when there was a general rendezvous of
merchants. This is enlarged upon by another pro¬
phet, Ezek. xxvii. 2, 3, &c. See how the hand of
the diligent, by the blessing of God upon it, makes
rich. Tyre became rich and great by industry,
though she had no other ploughs going' than those
that plough the waters. 4. She was a joyous city,
noted for mirth and jollity, v. 7. Those that were
so disposed, might find there all manner of sports
and diversions, all the delights of the sons and daugh¬
ters of men; balls, and plays, and operas, and every
thing of that kind, that a man had a fancy to. This
made them secure and proud, and they despised the
country people, who neither knew nor relished any
joys of that nature: and this made them very loath
to believe and consider what warnings God gave
them by his servants; they were too merry to mind
them. Her antiquity likewise was of ancient days,
and she was proud of that, and that helped to make
her secure; as if because she had been a city time
out of mind, and her antiquity had been of ancient
days, therefore she must continue a city time with¬
out end, and her continuance must be to the days
of eternity. 5. She was a crowning city, (y. 8.)
that crowned herself. Such were the power and
oomp of her magistrates, that they crowned those
who had dependence on her, and dealings with hi r
It is explained in the following words; Her mer
chants are princes, and live like princes, for tin-
ease and state they take; and her traffickers, what¬
ever country they go to, are the honourable of the
earth, who are respected by all. How slightly so¬
ever some now speak of tradesmen, it seems, for¬
merly, and among the wisest nations, there were
merchants, and traders, and men of business, that
were the honourable of the earth.
II. Here is Tyre falling. It does not appear that
she brought trouble upon herself by provoking her
neighbours with her quarrels, but rather by tempt¬
ing them with her wealth: but if that was it that
induced Nebuchadnezzar to fall upon Tyre, he was
disappointed; for after it had stood out a siege of
13 years, and could hold out no longer, the inhabit¬
ants got away by sea, with their families and goods,
to other places where they had an interest, and left
Nebuchadnezzar nothing but the bare city. See a
history of Tyre in Sir Walter Raleigh’s History t f
the World, lib. ii. cap. 7, sect. 3, 43. page 283.
which will give much light to the prophecy, and
that in Ezekiel concerning Tyre.
See how the destruction of Tyre is here foretold:
1. The haven should be spoiled, or, at least, ne¬
glected: there shall be no convenient harbour for the
reception of the ships of Tarshish, but all laid nvaste,
( v . 1. ) so that there shall be no house, no dock fi r
the ships to ride in, no inns or public houses for the
seamen, no entering into the port; perhaps it w:.s
choked with sand, or blocked up by the enemy; or.
Tyre being destroyed and laid waste, the ships that
used to come from Tarshish and Chittim into that
port, shall now no more enter in; for it is revealed
and made known to them, they have received the
dismal news, that Tyre is destroyed and laid waste:
so that there is now no more business for them there.
See how it is in this world; those that are spoiled
by their enemies are commonly slighted by their
old friends.
2. The inhabitants are struck with astonishment.
Tyre was an island; the inhabitants of it, who had
made a mighty noise and bustle in the world, had
revelled with loud huzzas, shall now be still and
silent; (v. 2.) they shall sit down as mourners, so
overwhelmed with grief, that they shall not be able
to express it. Their proud boasts of themselves,
and defiances of their neighbours, shall be silenced.
God caii soon quiet those, and strike them dumb,
that are the noisy, busy people of the world. Be
still; for God will do his work, (Ps. xlvi. 10. Zech.
ii. 13. ) and you cannot resist him.
3. The neighbours are amazed, blush, and are in
pain for them; Zidon is ashamed, (v. 4.) by whom
Tyre was at first replenished, for the rolling waves
of the sea brought to Zidon this news from T yre ; and
there the strength of the sea, a high spring-tide, pro¬
claimed, saying, “I travail not, nor bring forth
children, now as I have done. I do not now bring
ship loads of young people to Tyre, to be bred up
there in trade and business, as I used to do;” which
was the thing that had made Tyre so rich and popu¬
lous. Or, the sea, that used to be loaded with fleets
of ships about Tyre, shall now be as desolate as a
sorrowful widow that is bereaved of all her chil¬
dren, and has none about her to nourish and bring
up. Egypt indeed was a much larger and more
considerable kingdom than Tyre was; and yet Tyre
had so large a correspondence, upon the account of
trade, that all the nations about shall be as much in
pain, upon the report of the ruin of that one city, as
they would have been, and, not long after, were,
upon the report of the ruin of all Egypt, v. 5. Or.
as some read it, When the report shall reach to the
Egyptians , they shall be sorely panned to hear it oj
Tyre; both because of the loss of their trade with
107
ISAIAH,
that city, and because it was a threatening step to¬
ward their own ruin; when their neighbour’s house
was on fire, their own was in danger.
4. The merchants, as many as could, should trans¬
mit their effects to other places, and abandon Tyre,
where they had raised their estates, and thought
they had made them sure; ( v . 6.) “ Ye that have
long been inhabitants of this isle,” (for it lay off
in the sea about half a mile from the continent,)
“ it is time to howl now, for ye must pass over to
Tarshish. The best course Vou can take, is to
make the best of your way to Tarshish, to the sea,”
(to Tarsessus, a city in Spain; so some,) “ or to
some other of your plantations.” Those that think
their mountain stands strong, and cannot be moved,
will find that here they have no continuing city.
The mountains shall defiart, and the hills be re¬
moved.
5. Those that could not make their escape, must
expect no other than to be carried into captivity;
for it was the way of conquerors, in those times, to
take those they conquered to be bondmen in their
own country, and send of their own to be freemen
in theirs; (x>. 7.) Her own feet shall carry her afar
off to sojourn; she shall be hurried away on foot
into c iptivity, and many a weary step they shall
take toward their own misery. Those that have
lived in the greyest pomp and splendour, know not
what hardships they may be reduced to before they
die.
6. Many of those that attempted to escape should
be pursued, and fall into the hands of the enemy.
Tyre shall pass through her land as a river, ( v .
10.) running down, one company after another, into
the ocean or abyss of misery. Or, though they
hasten away as a river, with the greatest swiftness,
hoping to outrun the danger, yet there is no more
strength, they are quickly tired, and cannot get for¬
ward, but fall an easy prey into the hands of the
enemy. And as Tyre has no more strength, so her
sister Zidon has no more comfort; (v. 12.) “ Thou
shalt no more rejoice, 0 oppressed virgin, daughter
of Zidon, that art now ready to be overpowered by
the victorious Chaldeans; thy turn is next, there¬
fore arise, pass over to Chittim; flee to Greece, to
Italy, any whither, to shift for thy own safety ; yet
there also shalt thou have no rest; thine enemies
shall disturb thee, and thine own fears shall disquiet
thee, there where thou hopedst to find some repose. ”
Note, We deceive ourselves, if we promise our¬
selves rest any where in this world. Those that are
uneasy in one place, will be so in another; and when
God’s judgments pursue sinners, they will overtake
them.
But whence shall all this trouble come?
(1.) God will be the Author of it; it is a destruc¬
tion from the Almighty. It will be asked, {y. 8.)
“ Who has taken this counsel against Tyre? Who
has contrived it? Who has resolved it? Who can
find in his heart to lay such a stately, lovely city in
ruins? And how is it possible it should be effected?
To this it will be answered;
[1.] God has designed it, who is infinitely wise
and just, and never did, nor ever will do, any wrong
to any of his creatures; (y. 9.) The Lord of hosts,
that has all things at his disposal, and gives not ac¬
count of any of his matters, he has purposed it; it
shall be done according to the counsel of his will; and
that which he aims at herein, is, to stain the pride of
all glory, to pollute it, profane it, and throw it to be
trodden upon; and to bring into contempt, and make
despicable, all the honourable ones of the earth, that
they may not admire themselves, and be admired
by others, as usual. God did not bring those cala¬
mities upon Tyre in a way of sovereignty, to show
an arbitrary and irresistible power; but he did it to
punish the Tyrians for their pride. Many other I
XXIII.
sins, no doubt, reigned among them; idolatry, sen¬
suality, and oppression; but the sin of pride is fast¬
ened upon, as that which was the particular ground
of God’s controversy with Tyre, for he resists the
proud. All the world observing, and being sur¬
prised at, the desolation of Tyre, we have here an
exposition of it. God tells the world what he meant
by it: First, He designed to convince men of the
vanity and uncertainty of all earthly glory; to show
them what a withering, fading, perishing thing it
is, even then when it seems most substantial. It
were well if men would be thoroughly taught this
lesson, though it were at the expense of so great a
destruction. Are men’s learning and wealth, their
pomp and power, their interest in, and influence
upon, all about them, their glory? Are their stately
houses, rich furniture, and splendid appearances,
their glory? Look upon the ruins of Tyre, and see
all this glory stained, and sullied, and buried in the
dust. The honourable ones of heaven will be for
ever such; but see the grandees of Tyre, some fled
into banishment, others forced into captivity, and
all impoverished; and you will conclude that the
honourable of the earth, even the most honourable,
know not how soon they may be brought into con¬
tempt. Secondly, He designed hereby to prevent
their being proud of their glory, their being puffed
up, and confident of the continuance of it. Let the
ruin of Tyre be a warning to all places and persons
to take heed of pride, for it proclaims to all the
world, that he who exalts himself shall be abased.
[2.] God will do it, who has all power in his
hand, and can do it effectually; (y. 11.) He stretch¬
ed out his hand over the sea; he has done it, wit¬
ness the dividing of the Red sea, and the drowning
of Pharaoh in it. He has often shaken the king¬
doms that were most secure; and he has now given
commandment concerning this merchant-city, to
destroy the strong holds thereof. As its beauty
shall not intercede for it, but that shall be stained;
so its strength shall not protect it, but that shall be
broken. If any think it strange that a city so well
fortified, and that has so many powerful allies,
should be so totally ruined, let them know that it is
the Lord of hosts that has given a commandment
to destroy the strong holds thereof; and who can
gainsay his orders, or hinder the execution of them 5
(2.) The Chaldeans shall be the instruments of
it; (d. 13.) Behold the land of the Chaldeans; how
easily they and their land were destroyed by the
Assyrians. Though their own hands founded it, set
up the towers of Babylon, and raised up its palaces,
yet he, the Assyrian, brought it to ruin; whence the
Tyrians might infer, that as easily as the old Chal¬
deans were subdued by the Assyrians, so easily shall
Tyre be vanquished by those new Chaldeans. Babel
was built by the Assyrian, for them that dwell in
the wilderness. It may be rendered, for the ships.
The Assyrians founded it for ships, and ship-men
that traffic upon those vast rivers Tigris and Eu¬
phrates to the Persian and Indian seas; for men oj
the desert; for Babylon is called the desert of the
sea, ch. xxi. 1. Thus Tyrus was built upon the
sea for the like purpose. But the Assyrians (says
Dr. Lightfoot) brought that to ruin, now lately, in
Hezekiah’s time, and so shall Tyre, hereafter, be
brought to ruin by Nebuchadnezzar. If we looked
more upon the failing and withering of others, we
should not be so confident as we commonly are of
the continuance of our own flourishing and standing.
1 5. And it shall come to pass in that day,
that Tyre shall be forgotten seventy years,
according to the days of one king: after the
! end of seventy years shall Tyre sing as a
!! harlot. 16. Take a harp, go about the citv,
108 ISAIAH, XXIII.
thou harlot that hast been forgotten : make
sweet melody, sing many songs, that thou
mayest be remembered. 17. And it shall
come to pass, after the end of seventy years,
that the Lord will visit Tyre, and she shall
turn to her hire, and shall commit fornica¬
tion with all the kingdoms of the world
upon the face of the earth. 18. And her
merchandise and her hire shall be holiness
to the Lord : it shall not be treasured nor
laid up; for her merchandise shall be for
them that dwell before the Lord, to eat
sufficiently, and for durable clothing.
Here is,
I. The time fixed for the continuance of the de¬
solations of Tyre, which were not to be perpetual
desolations; Tyre shall be forgotten 70 years, v. 15.
So long it shall lie neglected, and buried in obscuri¬
ty. It was destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar much
about the time that Jerusalem was, and lay as long
as it did in its ruins. See the folly of that proud
ambitious conqueror. What the richer, what the
stronger, was he for making himself master of Tyre,
when all the inhabitants were driven cut of it, and
he had none of his own subjects to spare for the re¬
plenishing and fortifying of it? It is strange what
pleasure men could take in destroying cities, and
making their memorial perish with them, Ps. ix. 6.
He trampled on the pride of Tyre, and therein serv¬
ed God’s purpose; but with greater pride, for which
God soon after humbled him.
II. A prophecy of the restoration of Tyre to its
glory again; After the end of 70 years, according
to the years of one king, or one dynasty, or family,
of kings, that of Nebuchadnezzar; when that ex¬
pired, the desolations of Tyre came to an end.
And we may presume that Cyrus at the same time,
when he released the Jews, and encouraged them
to rebuild Jerusalem, released the Tyrians also, and
encouraged them to rebuild Tyre. Thus the pros¬
perity and adversity of places, as well as persons,
are set the one over against the other; that the most
glorious cities may not be secure, nor the most ruin¬
ous despair. It is foretold,
1. That God’s providence shall again smile upon
this ruined city; (v. 17.) The Lord will visit Tyre
in mercy; for though he contend, he will not con¬
tend for ever. It is not said, Her old acquaintance
shall visit her, the colonies she has planted, and the
trading cities she has had correspondence with; they
have forgotten her; but, The Lord shall visit her
by some unthought-of turn; he shall cause his in¬
dignation toward her to cease, and then things will
run, of course, in their former channel.
2. That she shall use her best endeavours to re¬
cover her trade again. She shall sing as a harlot,
that has been some time under correction for her
lewdness: but, when she is set at liberty, (so violent
is the bent of corruption,) she will use her old arts
of temptation. The Tyrians being returned from
their captivity, and those that remained recovering
new spirits thereupon, they shall contrive how to
force a trade, shall procure the best choice of goods,
undersell their neighbours, and be obliging to all
customers; as a harlot that has been forgotten,
when she comes to be spoken of again, recommends
herself to company by singing and playing; takes a
harp, goes about the city, perhaps in the night, se¬
renading, makes sweet ’ melody, and sings many
songs. These are innocent and allowable diver¬
sions, if soberly and moderately and modestly used;
but those that’ are attached to them should" not be
over fond of them, nor ambitious to excel in them;
because, whatever they are now, anciently they
were some of the baits with which harlots used to
entice fools. Tyre shall now by degrees come to be
the mart of nations again; she shall return to her
hire, to her traffic, and shall commit fornication:
she shall have dealings in trade (for she carries on
the similitude of a harlot) with all the kingdoms of
the world, that she had formerly traded with in
her prosperity. The love of worldly wealth is a spi¬
ritual whoredom, and therefore covetous people
are called adulterers and adulteresses, (James iv. 4. )
and covetousness is spiritual idolatry.
3. That, having recovered hertrade again, she shall
make a better use of it than she had done formerly;
and this good she should get by her calamities, (v.
18.) Her merchandise, and her hire, shall be holiness
to the Lord. The trade of Tyre, and all the gain of
her trade, shall be devoted to God and to his honour,
and employed in his service. It shall not be trea¬
sured and hoarded up, as formerly, to be the matter
of their pride, and the support of their carnal confi¬
dence; but it shall be laid out in acts of piety and
charity. What thev can spare from the mainten¬
ance of themselves and their families, shall be for
them that dwell before the Lord, for the priests, the
Lord’s ministers that attend in his temple at Jeru
salem ; not to maintain them in pomp and grandeur,
but that they and theirs may eat sufficiently, may
have food convenient for them, with as little as may
be of that care which would divert them from their
ministration; and that they may have, not rich and
fine clothing, but durable clothing, that which is
strong and lasting; clothing for old men; so some
read it; as if the priests, though they were young,
must wear such plain, grave clothing as old mi n
used to wear. Now, (1.) This supposes that reli¬
gion should be set up in New Tyre, that they should
come to the knowledge of the true God, and into
communion with the Israel of God. Perhaps their
being fellow-captives with the Jews in Babylon,
(who had prophets with them there,) disposed them
to join with them in their worship there, and turned
them from idols, as it cured the Jews of their idola¬
try; and when they were released with them, and,
as they had reason to believe, for their sakes, when
they were settled again in Tyre, they would send
gifts and offerings to the temple, and presents to
the priests. We find men of Tyre then dwell¬
ing in the land of Judah, Neh. xiii. 16. Tvre and
Sidon were better disposed to religion in Christ’s
time, than the cities of Israel, for if Christ had gone
among them, they would have repented, Matth. xi.
21. And we meet with Christians at Tyre, (Acts
xxi. 3. ) and, many years after, did Christianity flour¬
ish there. Some of the rabbins refer this prophecy
of the conversion of Tyre to the days of the Mes¬
siah. (2. ) It directs those that have estates, to make
use of them in the service of God and religion, and
to reckon that best laid up, which is so laid rut.
Both the merchandise of the tradesman, and the
hire of the day-labourers, shall be devoted to God.
Both the merchandise, (the employment we follow,)
and the hire, (the gain of our employment,) must
be holiness to the Lord ; alluding to the motto en¬
graven on the frontlet of the High-Priest, (Exod.
xxxix. 30.) and to the separation of the tithe under
the law. Lev. xxvii. 30. See a promise like this
referring to gospel-times, Zech. xiv. 20, 21. We
must first give up ourselves to be holiness to the
Lord, before what we do, or have, or get, can be
so. When we abide with God in our particular call
ings, and do common actions after a godly sort, when
we abound in works of piety and charity, are liberal
in relieving the poor, and supporting the ministry,
and encouraging the gospel, then our merchandise
and our hire are holiness to the Lord, if we sin
cerely look at his glory in it. And it need not
ISAIAH, XXIV.
109
ic treasured and laid up on earth; for it is trea¬
sured and laid up in heaven, in bags that ivax not
old, Luke xii. 33.
CHAP. XXJV.
It is agreed that here begins a new sermon, which is con¬
tinued to the end of ch. xxvii. And in it, the prophet,
according to the directions he had received, does, in
many precious promises, say to the righteous, It shall be
well icith them; and, in many dreadful threatening, he
says, Wo to the xoicked, it shall be ill xoith them; (ch. iii.
1 0* 11.) and these are interwoven, that they may illus¬
trate each other. This chapter is, mostly, threatening;
and as the judgments threatened are very sore and griev¬
ous ones, so the people threatened with those judgments,
are very many. It is not the burthen of any particu¬
lar city or kingdom, as those before, but the burthen
of the whole earth. The word indeed signifies only the
land , because our own land is commonly to us as all the
earth. But it is here explained by another word that it
is not so confined, it is the world , v. 4. So that it must,
at least, take in a whole neighbourhood of nations. I .
Some think (and very probably) that it is a prophecy of
the great havoc that Sennacherib and his Assyrian army
should now shortly make of many of the nations in that
part of the world. 2. Others make it to point at the like
devastations which, about 100 years after, Nebuchad¬
nezzar and his armies should make in the same coun¬
tries; going from one kingdom to another, not only to
conquer them, but to ruin them, and lay them wraste; for
that was the method which those eastern nations took
in their wars. The promises that are mixed with the
threatenings, are intended for the support and comfort
of the people of God in those very calamitous times.
And since here are no particular nations named, either
by whom, or on whom, those desolations should be
brought, I see not but it may refer to both these events.
Nay, the scripture has many fulfilling’s, and we ought to
give it its full latitude; and therefore I incline to think
that the prophet, from those and the like instances which
he had a particular eye to, designs here to represent in
general the calamitous state of mankind, and the many
miseries which human life is liable to, especially those
that attend the wars of the nations. Surely the prophets
were sent, not only to foretell particular events, but to
form the minds of men to virtue and piety, and for that
end their prophecies were written and preserved, even
for our learning, and therefore ought not to be looked
upon as of private interpretation. N ow, since a thorough
conviction of the vanity of the world, and its insufficiency
to make us happy, will go far toward bringing us to
God, and drawing out our affections towards another
world, the prophet here shows what vexation of spirit
we must expect to meet with in these things, that we
may never take up our rest in them, nor promise our¬
selves satisfaction any where short of the enjoyment of
God. In this chapter, we have, 1. A threatening of
desolating judgments for sin; (v. 1..12.) to this is
added an assurance, that, in the midst of them, good
people should be comforted, (v. 13 .. 16.) II. A further
threatening of the like desolations, (v. 16. . 22.) to which
is added an assurance, that, in the midst of all, God
should be glorified.
l.TJEHOLD, the Lord maketh the
Jj earth empty; and maketh it waste,
and turneth it upside down, and scattereth
abroad the inhabitants thereof. 2. And it
shall be, as with the people, so with the
priest; as with the servant, so with his mas¬
ter ; as with the maid, so with her mistress ;
as with the buyer, so with the seller ; as
with the lender, so with the borrower ; as
with the taker of usury, so with the giver of
usury to him. 3. The land shall be utterly
emptied, and utterly spoiled: for the Lord
hath spoken this word. 4. The earth
moumeth, and fadeth away; the world
languisheth, and fadeth away ; the haughty
people of the earth do languish. 5. The
earth also is defiled under the inhabitants
thereof, because they have transgressed the
laws, changed the ordinance, broken the
everlasting covenant. G. Therefore hath
the curse devoured the earth, and they that
dwell therein are desolate: therefore the
inhabitants of the earth are burned, and few
men left. 7. The new wine mourneth, the
vine languisheth, all the merry-hearted do
sigh. 8. The mirth of tablets ceaseth, the
noise of them that rejoice endeth, the joy of
the harp ceaseth. 9. They shall not drink
wine with a song; strong drink shall be bitter
to them that drink it. 1 0. The city of confu¬
sion is broken down ; every house is shut up,
that no man may come in. 1 1 . There is a
crying for wine in the streets; all joy is dark¬
ened, the mirth of the land is gone. 12. In
the city is left desolation, and the gate is smit¬
ten with destruction.
It is a very dark and melancholy scene that this
prophecy presents to our view; turn our eves which
way we will, every thing looks dismal. The deso¬
lations are here described in a great variety of ex¬
pressions to the same purport, and all aggravating.
I. The earth is stripped of all its ornaments, and
looks as if it were taken off its basis; it is made
empty and waste, (n. 1. ) as if it were reduced to its
first chaos, Tohu and Bohu, nothing but confusion
and emptiness again, (Gen. i. 2.) without form and
void. It is true, earth sometimes signifies the land,
and so the same word Eretz is here translated; (r.
3.) The land shall be utterly emptied, arid utterly
spoiled ; but I see not why it should not there, as
well as v. 1. be translated the earth ; for most com¬
monly, if not always, where it signifies some one
particular land, it lias something joined to it, or, at
least, not far from it, which does so appropriate it;
as, the land (or earth) of Egypt, or Canaan ; or this
land, or ours, or yours, or the like. It might indeed
refer to some particular country, and an ambiguous
word might be used to warrant such an application;
for it is good to apply to ourselves, and our own
lands, what the scripture says in general, of the va¬
nity and vexation of spirit that attend all things here
below ; but it should seem designed to speak wlfat
often happens to many countries, and will do while
the world stands, and what may, we know not how
soon, happen to our own, and what is the general
character of all earthly things, they are empty f f
all solid comfort and satisfaction, a little thing makes
them waste. We often see numerous families, and
plentiful estates, utterly emptied, and utterly spc.il-
ed, by one judgment or other, or perhaps only by a
gradual and insensible decay. Sin has turned the
earth upside down; the earth is become quite a dif¬
ferent thing to man from what it was when God
made it to be his habitation. Sin has also scattered
abroad the inhabitants thereof; the rebellion at Ba¬
bel was the occasion of the dispersion there. How
many ways are there in which the inhabitants both
of towns and of private houses are scattered abroad,
so that near relations and old neighbours know no¬
thing of one another! To the same purport, v. 4.
The earth mourns, and fades away; it disappoints
those that placed their happiness in it, and raised
their expectations high from it, and proves not what
they promised themselves it would be; The whole
world languishes and fades away, as hastening to¬
ward a dissolution. It is, at the best, like a flower,
which withers in the hands of those that please
no
ISAIAH, XXIV.
themselves too much with it, and lay it in their bo¬
soms. And as the earth itself grows old, so they that
dwell therein are desolate; men carry crazy, sickly
bodies along with them, are often solitary, and con¬
fined by affliction, v. 6. When the earth languishes,
and is not so fruitful as it used to be, then they
that dwell therein, that make it their home, and
rest, and portion, are desolate; whereas they that
Dy faith dwell in God, can rejoice in him, even when
the fig-tree does not blossom. If we look abroad,
and see in how many places pestilences and burn¬
ing fevers rage, and what multitudes are swept
away by them in a little time, so that sometimes the
living scarcely suffice to bury the dead, perhaps we
shall understand what the prophet means, when he
says, The inhabitants of the earth are burned, or
consumed, some by one disease, others by another,
and there are but few men left, in comparison.
Note, The world we live in is a world of disappoint¬
ment, a vale of tears, and a dying world; and the
children of men in it are but of few days, and full
of trouble.
II. It is God that brings all these calamities upon
the earth; the Lord that made the earth, and made
it fruitful and beautiful, for the service and comfort
of man, now makes it empty and waste; (y. 1.)
for its Creator is, and will be, its Judge; he has an
incontestable right to pass sentence upon it, and an
irresistible power to execute that sentence. It is
the Lord that has spoken this word, and he will do
the work; (u. 3.) it is his curse that has devoured
the earth, (y. 6. ) the general curse which sin brought
upon the ground for man’s sake, (Gen. iii. 17. ) and
all the particular curses which families and coun¬
tries bring upon themselves by their enormous wick¬
edness. See the power of God’s curse, how it makes
all empty, and lays all waste; those whom he
curses, are cursed indeed.
III. Persons of all ranks and conditions shall
share in these calamities; (t>. 2.) It shall be, as with
the people, so with the priest, &c. This is ti-ue of
many of the common calamities of human life; all
are subject to the same diseases of body, sorrows of
mind, afflictions in relations, and the like; there is
one event to those of very different stations; time and
chance happen to them all. It is in a special manner
true ot the destroying judgments which God some¬
times brings upon sinful nations; when he pleases,
he can make them universal, so that none shall es¬
cape them, or be exempt from them; whether men
have little or much, they shall lose it all. Those of
the meaner rank smart first by famine; but those
of the higher rank go first into captivitv, while the
poor of the land are left. It should be 'all alike, 1.
With high and low; .Is with the people, so with the
priest, or prince. The dignity of magistrates and
ministers, and the respect and reverence owing to
both, shall not secure them; the faces of elders are
not honoured, Lam. v. 12. The priests had been
as corrupt and wicked as the people; and if their
character serve not to restrain them from sin, how
can they expect it should serve to secure them from
judgments? In both, it is like people, like priest,
Hosea iv. 8, 9. 2. With bond and free; As with
the servant, so with his master; as with the maid,
so with her mistress; they have all corrupted their
way, and therefore will all be made miserable when
the earth is made waste. 3. With rich and poor;
those that have money beforehand, that are pur¬
chasing, and letting out money to interest, will fare
no better than those that are so impoverished, that
they are forced to sell their estates, and take up
money at interest. There are judgments short of
the great day of judgment, in which rich and poor
meet together. Let not those that are advance^
in the world, set their inferiors at too great a dis¬
tance, because they know not how soon they may
be set upon a level with them. The rich man’s
wealth is his strong city, in his own conceit; but it
does not always prove so.
IV. It is sin that brings these calamities upon the
earth; Therefore the earth is made empty, and
fades away, because it is defiled under the inhabi¬
tants thereof; (v. 5.) it is polluted by the -sins of
men, and therelore it is made desolate by the judg¬
ments of God. Such is the filthy nature of sin, that
it defiles the earth itself under the sinful inhabitants
thereof, and it is rendered unpleasant in the eves of
God and good men. See Lev. xviii. 25, 27, 28.
Blood, in particular, defiles the land. Numb. xxxv.
33. The earth never spues out its inhabitants, till
they have first defiled it by their sins. Why, what
have they done? 1. They have transgressed the
laws of their creation, not answered the ends of it:
the bonds of the law of nature have been broken by
them, and they have cast from them the cords of
their obligations to the God of nature. 2. They
have changed the ordinances of revealed religion,
those of them that have had the benefit of that.
They have neglected the ordincmces; so some read
it; and have made no consciencrtof observing them;
they have passed over the laws, in the commission
of sin, and have passed by the ordinance, in the
omission of duty. 3. Herein they have broken the
everlasting covenant, which is a perpetual bond, and
will be to those that keep it a perpetual blessing. It
is God’s wonderful condescension, that he is pleased
to deal with men in a covenant-way; to do them
good, and thereby oblige them to do him service.
Even those that had no benefit by God’s covenant
with Abraham, had benefit by his covenant with
Noah and his sons, which is called an everlasting
covenant, his covenant with day and night; but they
observe not the precepts of the sons of Noah, they
acknowledge not God’s goodness in the day and
night, nor study to make him any grateful returns,
and so break the everlasting covenant, and defeat
the gracious designs and intentions of it.
V. These judgments shall humble men’s pride,
and mar their mirth: when the earth is made empty.
1. It is a great mortification to men’s pride; (y.
4.) The haughty people of the earth do languish;
for they have lost that which supported their pride,
and for which they magnified themselves: those that
have held their heads highest, God can make hang
the head.
2. It is a great damp to men’s jollity; this is en¬
larged upon much; (f. 7 — 9.) All the merry-hearted
do sigh; such is the nature pf carnal mirth, it is but
as the crackling of thorns under a pot, Eccl. vii. 6.
Great laughters commonly end in a sigh: they that
make the world their chief joy, cannot rejoice ever¬
more. When God sends his judgments into the
earth, he designs thereby to make those serious
that were wholly addicted to their pleasures; Let
your laughter be turned into mourning. When the
earth is emptied, the noise of them that rejoice in it,
ends. Carnal joy is a noisy thing; but the noise of it
will soon be at an end, and the end of it is heaviness.
Two things are made use of to excite and express
vain mirth, and the jovial crew is here deprived of
both; (1.) Drinking; the new wine mourns, it is
grown sour for want of drinking; for, how proper
soever it may be for the heavy heart, (Prov. xxxi.
6.) it does not relish then as it does to the merrv-
hearted: the vine languishes, and gives little hopes
of a vintage, and therefore the merry-hearted do
sigh; for they know no other gladness than that < f
their corn and wine and oil increasing, (Ps. iv. 7.t
and if you destroy their vines and their fig-trees, you
make all their mirth to cease, Hos. ii. 11, 12. They
shall not now drink wine with a song, as they uset.
tc do, and with huzzas; but rather drink it with a
sigh: nay, Strong drink shall be bitter to them that
ISAIAH, XXIV.
drink it, bc( ause they cannot but mingle their tears
with it; or, through sickness, they have lost the re¬
lish of it God has many ways to imbitter wine and
strong drink to them that love them, and have the
highest gust'of them: distemper of body, anguish of
mind, the ruin of the estate or country, will make
tlie strong drink bitter, and all the delights of sense
tasteless and insipid. (2.) Music; The mirth of
tabrets ceases, and the joy of the harp, which used
to be at their feasts, ch. v. 12. The captives in Ba¬
bylon hang their harps on the willow trees. In
short, all joy is darkened, there is not a pleasant
look to be seen, nor has any one power to force a
smile; all the mirth of the land is gone, (y. 11.) and
if it were that mirth which Solomon calls madness,
there is no great loss of it
VI. The cities will in a particular manner feel
from these desolations of the country; {v. 10.) The
city of confusion is broken, is broken down; so we
read it; it lies exposed to invading powers, not only
by' the breaking down of its walls, but by the con¬
fusion that the inhabitants are in; every house is
shut up; perhaps by reason of the plague, which has
burned or consumed the inhabitants, so that there
are few men left, v. 6. Houses infected are usually
shut up, that no man may come in: or, they are
shut up because they are deserted and uninhabited.
There is a crying for wine, for the spoiling of the
vintage, so that there is likely to be no wine. In
the city, in Jerusalem itself, that had been so much
frequented, there shall be left nothing but desola¬
tion; grass shall grow in the streets, and the gate is
smitten with destruction; (v. 12.) all that used to
pass and repass through the gate, are smitten, and
all the strength of the city is cut off. How soon can
God make a city of order a city of confusion, and
then it will soon be a city of desolation!
1 3. When thus it shall be in the midst of
the land among the people, there shall be as
the shaking of an olive-tree, and as the
gleaning-grapes when the vintage is done.
1 4. They shall lift up their voice, they shall
sing for the majesty of the Lord, they shall
cry aloud from the sea. 15. Wherefore
glorify ye the Lord in the fires, even the
name of the Lord God of Israel in the isles
of the sea.
Here is mercy remembered in the midst of wrath;
in Judah and Jerusalem, and the neighbouring coun¬
tries, when they are overrun by the enemy, Sen¬
nacherib or Nebuchadnezzar, there shall be a rem¬
nant preserved from the general ruin, and it shall
be a devout and pious remnant. And this method
God usually observes, when his judgments are
abroad; he does not make a full end, ch. vi. 13. Or,
we may take it thus; Though the greatest part of
mankind have all their comfort ruined by the emp¬
tying of the earth, and the making of that desolate,
vet there are some few who understand themselves
better, who have laid up their treasure in heaven,
and not in things below, and therefore can keep up
their comfort and joy in God, even then when the
earth mourns and fades away.
Observe, 1. The small number of this remnant:
(x>. 13.) when all goes to ruin, there shall be as the
shaking of an olive-tree, and the gleaning-grapes,
here and there one, who shall escape the common
calamity, (;is Noah and his family, when the old
world was drowned,) that shall be able to sit down
upon a heap of the ruins of all their creature-com¬
forts, and even then rejoice in the Lord, (Hab. iii.
16 — 18.) who, when all faces gather blackness, can
lift up their heads with joy, Luke xxi. 26, 28. These
111
few are dispersed, and at a distance from each
other, like the gleanings of the olive-tree; and they
are concealed,- hid under the leaves. The Lord
only knows them that are his, the world does not.
2. The great devotion of this remnant, which is
the greater for their having so narrowly escaped
this great destruction; (v. 14.) They shall lift up
their voice, they shall sing. (1. ) They shall sing
for joy in their deliverance; when the mirth of car¬
nal worldlings ceases, the joy of the saints is as lively
as ever; when the merry-hearted do sigh because
the vine languishes, the upright-hearted do sing
because the covenant of grace, the fountain of their
comforts, and the foundation of their hopes, never
fails; they that rejoice in the Lord, can rejoice in
tribulation, and by faith may be in triumphs, when
all about them are in tears. (2. ) They shall sing
to the glory and praise of God; shall sing not only
for the mercy, but for the majesty, of the Lords
their songs are awful and serious, and in their spi¬
ritual joys they have a reverent regard to the great¬
ness of God, and keep at an humble distance, when
they attend him with their praises. The majesty
of the Lord, which is matter of terror to wicked
people, furnishes the saints with songs of praise.
They shall sing for the magnificence, or transcen¬
dent excellency, of the Lord, showed both in his
judgments and in his mercies; for we must sing, and
sing unto him, of both, Ps. ci. 1. Those who have
made, or are making, their escape from the land
(that being emptied and made desolate) to the sea
and the isles of the sea, shall from thence cry aloud ;
their dispersion shall help to spread the knowledge
of God, and they shall make even remote shores to
ring with his praises. It is much for the honour of
God, if those who fear 
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